


For a Lifetime

by TheEagleFox



Series: Moments in a Lifetime [1]
Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Comedic Moments, Comfort, Couch Cuddles, F/M, Fluff, Hot Chocolate, Hugs, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Internal Conflict, Iruma Miu Being Iruma Miu, Iruma Miu's Dirty Mouth, Keebo is human, Kissing, M/M, Minor Character Death, Minor panic attacks, Momota Kaito & Oma Kokichi Are Siblings, New Dangan Ronpa V3 Spoilers, Plot Twists, Post-Canon, Rating has changed thanks to Miu, Rehabilitation, Self-Blame, Sibling Fluff, Slow Burn, Survivor Guilt (minor), Virtual Reality, shower hugs, showering together, waking up from virtual reality
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-23
Updated: 2018-09-14
Packaged: 2019-05-13 01:25:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 50,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14739477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheEagleFox/pseuds/TheEagleFox
Summary: This was the first time they've said the words "I love you" to each other...But as they get ready to see some familiar faces after a whole year Shuichi can't help but look back at what has happened in his life in the past year.Starting with when they all woke up from the Killing Game over a year ago.





	1. Don't Think Twice

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my first time writing anything for the Danganronpa fandom so hopefully this came out ok!! Fair warning though, I will be using names and such from the localization since that's what I'm most familiar with, sorry! Maybe when I'm more familiar with writing I'll try doing a fic with honorifics and such?!? Also there will be some elements of Japanifornia in this fic because I know very little about Japanese culture, so just bare with me! (side note:this fic is not beta'd)
> 
> Extra little side note: all the chapters will be names of songs from video game soundtracks (extra brownie points if you can guess the game!) and will usually have some connotation with the current chapter.

* * *

 

_How did I live in a kingdom of thieves_

_  
And people who say things they don't really mean, really mean_

 

* * *

  

_ December 2018 _

It’s the final week of classes for the fall semester and most students are doing one of the following: finishing up with their final exams, studying for said finals, or headed back home for the holidays.  Shuichi Saihara, once known for being a part of the 53rd season of Danganronpa, was among the handful of students who completed their last set of finals today; he took his Intro to Psychology final at 8am (then proceeded to treat himself to large cup of black coffee), and completed his Theatre History final by 2:30pm before returning to his apartment for a well deserved nap, his first semester as a freshman completed.

 

Now it is around 5pm, the faint sound of an animated film is playing from the living room, but it’s that distinguishable laughter that comes after a comedic moment in the movie (or at least what Shuichi _assumes_ is a comedic moment) that brings a smile to his face. Shuichi looks over the stovetop in his kitchen and begins to add two packets of instant hot chocolate mix into a pot of water that has only just began to boil. Leaving the powder to mix in Shuichi shuffles over to his cabinet to grab two mugs for the chocolate before returning to the stove, silently cursing to himself that despite being dressed in sweatpants, his warmest long-sleeved shirt, AND having the heating unit turned on the cold December air still manages to somehow creep into his apartment and nip at his skin.  “Well, it doesn’t matter,” Shuichi mumbles “Being together under a few blankets is more than enough, but sharing some hot chocolate while doing so certainly doesn’t hurt.”

 

The scent of nearly-finished hot chocolate prompts Shuichi to lower the heat of the stove; he goes to grab a few additional ingredients from his fridge and pantry before returning to the stovetop. After adding a few drops off vanilla extract and a little bit of milk into the pot of hot chocolate, Shuichi stirs the new mixture then brings up the wooden spoon full of steaming cocoa to his lips for a quick taste. The semi-sweet flavor is quite delicious, but Shuichi lets out a small yelp after the hot drink singes his tongue a bit, thankfully not catching the attention of the person in his living room. “ _Next time Shuichi blow on the spoon more than_ ONCE _!”_ he scolds himself as he pours the hot chocolate into the two cups, being mindful to add a few extra ingredients to one of the cups, then adds a few mini marshmallows to the top of each cup (again, making sure one of the cups got _extra_ marshmallows) before he makes his way to the living room, appreciating the warmth both mugs are providing to his chilled hands.

 

Shuichi returns to his living room, but his keen eye, likely gained from his time as the “Ultimate Detective”, notices that something is…off. The movie, which is showing an ogre yelling at a collection of fairy tale creatures, hasn’t been paused and the pile of blankets on the couch that held a person not too long ago has gotten…bigger somehow? Shuichi deadpanned at the pile on the couch, perfectly aware of what was going on, but that wouldn’t stop him from playing along. “Kokichi?” he called out, making sure to project in a manner that made it seem like he wasn’t staring directly at the moving lump on his couch. A muffled ‘nishishi’ is heard from within the pile of blankets and Shuichi can’t help but roll his eyes and smirk. “Huh, I suppose Kokichi must’ve left without saying goodbye,” another muffled laugh is the only response Shuichi receives, “I guess I’ll just have to relax on these _cozy_ blankets and enjoy his cocoa with _extra_ chocolate syrup and _six_ spoonfuls of sugar!” Shuichi knew there was no way in hell Kokichi of all people would fall for that, no one besides the “Ultimate Supreme Leader” could tolerate a drink that was so ridiculously sugary.

 

As he sets the mugs down on the small wooden table in the living room Shuichi falls back onto the pile of blankets, fully aware of the person hiding underneath. A small chuckle escapes Shuichi’s mouth as the body underneath him squirms and laughs from within the blankets. He feels the mound under him quickly shift to his right as he sees violet swirls beginning to emerge from the blankets. Kokichi Ouma, the cheerful purple-headed troublemaker that Shuichi is happy to call his boyfriend, manages to pop his head out of the pile of cozy blankets as he shoots a Cheshire-styled smile in the direction of his favorite detective, or rather his favorite _ex_ -detective. A small blush is highlighting Kokichi’s cheeks, and although Shuichi doesn’t know exactly why (though he imagines currently sitting _on_ Kokichi may be playing a part in it) he does make a mental note on how it makes Kokichi look even more adorable in his reindeer onesie.

 

_“Haha he’s like a human version of Rudolph…”_ the detective chuckles at his own comment “ _…Especially with those tiny antlers on his head!”_ Shuichi feels a faint blush form across his cheeks, slowly become deeper shades of cherry red as he continues to admire his purple-haired reindeer.  

 

The small groan of annoyance that comes from Kokichi catches Shuichi’s attention “Jeez my beloved Shuichi has gotten sooo fat!” he teases “His big ol’ body is practically crushing me!”

 

_“…Crushing me...Crushing me!”_ Kokichi’s last remark seems to ring through Shuichi’s head longer than it should; an extra weight being felt in those words as they continue to echo.

 

**Crushing.**

**Crushing…Kokichi…?**

Shuichi…

 

He was...

 

He…

 

was… **crushing** …Kokichi…?

 

All the color drains from Shuichi’s face at the sheer thought as he’s brought back to that dreaded case in the killing game. The painful amount of dread and heartache he was forced to experience during that case is something Shuichi wishes he could forget. But those details he’s always fought to move past begin to claw and scratch their way back into his head. His heart starts to ache. His head begins to throb. And there is a sickening feeling in his stomach as it all starts coming back.

 

_The hydraulic **press** …_

_The red pools of blood **splattered** across the hangar like paint…_

_The **unknown** body that was crushed to **nothing** under the press…_

_The poison from **his** lab used against Kaito and Kokichi…_

_Kokichi’s twisted **plan** to outsmart the Mastermind…_

_Imagining the **pain** Kokichi must have felt in his last moments…_

_The bones in his fragile body **snapping** all at once like they were twigs… _

_Concluding that it was Kokichi’s body **crushed** into nothing…_

_Kaito confessing to the **murder** and emerging from the Exisal…_

_Shuichi blaming **himself** for pushing his best friend into a corner… _

_And watching Kaito **beat** his execution…_

_…_

_…_

_…Hating himself for telling Kokichi he’d always be **alone**._

_And not being able to **thank** him until it was already too late…_

 

“Nishishi, but that’s just a lie since Shuichi is actually suuuper ligh-“but before Kokichi could even finish his sentence Shuichi pushes himself off of the smaller boy, much too forcibly Kokichi notices, and toward the opposite end of the couch.  Kokichi can immediately tell that something is wrong and observes the details of Shuichi’s face, and none of them are good. Smalls beads of sweat are beginning to form on Shuichi’s forehead, the boy’s pupils are dilated, and he’s looking straight ahead as if he just saw someone getting hit by a car. He can see that Shuichi’s hands are shaking ever so slightly and that his breathing is semi-erratic. “ _Damn it what did you do?!”_ Kokichi scolds himself. Because of his prideful nature Kokichi would never admit it to anyone, but he wants to be able to take care of Shuichi the way he always does for Kokichi. And if the boy he deeply cares for is on the verge of a panic attack Kokichi can’t help but take the blame for unintentionally triggering it.

 

Kokichi can see tears beginning to form around the ducts of the onyx eyes he always pretends he doesn’t get lost in for hours. Immediately the ex-supreme leader begins to scoot himself closer toward Shuichi, the concern on his face as clear as day. When he grabs the boy’s hands Kokichi begins to trace small circles with his thumbs onto Shuichi’s trembling hands, which are gripping back on the smaller pair so tightly it’s almost like he’s scared they’ll disappear if he lets go. “H-Hey Shuichi, what’s wrong?” Kokichi doesn’t even try to mask his worry as he tries his best to comfort the trembling boy “Was it something I said that-“

 

“It’s all my fault…”

 

“Huh?”

 

“E-Everything t-that happened…it-it’s all my fault…”

 

The former detective lowers his head as those words come out without a second thought, his self-blame could be clearly heard in each word and it leaves Kokichi speechless. _”Is…is he talking about the killing game? But what could I have said that-“_ the former supreme leader doesn’t have to finish that train of thought to realize his mistake. _”Oh…’_ crushing _’…I’m such an idiot…I just made him remember the fifth case…didn’t I? Dammit, Shuichi wasn’t even the one who was crushed by that thing, but that doesn’t mean_ he _wasn’t equally traumatized by what happened in that fucking killing game…”_

 

Tears start to stream down Shuichi’s cheeks and he’s trying his hardest to refrain from looking Kokichi in the face. “I-If I had picked up o-on your r-real intentions in the game sooner t-things could’ve been different!” he chokes out “B-but I d-didn’t *sniff* I didn’t t-try hard enough to understand you…and I…I told you that you *sniff* you’d always be alone! How I felt over w-what happened with G-Gonta made me say something horrible to you and I backed you into corner. **I** left you with NO ONE! If I wasn’t s-so S-STUPID we could have ended that killing game together!“ Shuichi releases a few more sniffs while trying to compose himself “M-maybe you and Kaito would have gotten out with us…but I failed you, I failed you both. I failed Kaede and her wish the second we saw Ryoma’s body…I failed Rantaro _and_ Ryoma by never reaching out to them…I failed Tenko by-” before Shuichi can continue to unnecessary blame himself for what transpired in the game, Kokichi wraps his arms around Shuichi’s back and pulls him in gently, effectively silencing the crying individual on the couch.

 

“Ko…kichi?”

 

“Shhh…I’m here Shuichi I’m here, it’s going to be ok.” Kokichi whispers as he rests his chin onto Shuichi’s shoulder, allowing the latter to slowly return the hug as he leans into Kokichi’s shoulder. Their bodies now pressed together, Kokichi tries to soothe Shuichi’s thoughts by gently running his hand up and down the boy’s back.

 

The two stay like this for a moment before Kokichi decides to speak again “You know Shuichi, for someone who is so smart you’re actually really dumb…” Kokichi says in a neutral tone, but makes sure to add emphasis on ‘smart’ and ‘dumb’. He feels Shuichi’s grip lightly tighten against his back and Kokichi can almost sense the wincing on Shuichi’s face. Yeah, he probably could have phrased that a little gentler, but hearing the boy he loves shoulder the blame of everyone’s selfish actions in the 53rd Killing Game (including Kokichi’s own actions), made the ex-supreme leader’s heart ache. Right now he doesn’t want to drop hints about how Shuichi’s self-torment makes him feel or tiptoe around the bigger issue, no this is a moment where Kokichi has to be completely honest with Shuichi to get his point across. While Kokichi doesn’t feel the need to excessively lie like he did during the killing game, back when he’d build up walls to push others away while masking his own paranoia and trust issues, he’ll still throw out the occasional small lie to try and lighten up the mood or just for the sake of mischief. However, right now was not the time for either of those options. “Shuichi we both know you have every right to be sad about what happened in that… _game_ ” the last word comes out of his mouth with venom that Kokichi doesn’t care to hide. “But you have no reason to place so much blame on yourself because you didn’t do _anything_ wrong to deserve that!” He presses himself closer into Shuichi, deepening their embrace as he lightly squeezing the boy’s back. Shuichi’s only response is a few small sniffles and Kokichi has to try his best to keep his own tears from releasing, right now his top priority is getting Shuichi to feel better, Kokichi could always cry later.

 

Shuichi’s head leaves the security of Kokichi’s shoulder, but he still averts his watery gaze away from the smaller boy. “But Kokichi I do deser-“a single finger lightly presses against his lips, hushing him before he could mutter another word.

 

“Shuichi,” Kokichi cups Shuichi’s chin in his hand, tilting his head so their eyes can meet “ _please_ just listen to what I have to say.” His voice is calm as he brushes his thumb across Shuichi’s puffy cheeks to wipe away the freshly made tears streaming down his face. He takes the raven-haired boy’s hands in his own, slowly lowering them onto their laps as he prepares to speak. The former detective slowly nods, signaling that he was ready for the smaller boy to speak his mind. “I don’t want you to believe that the stupid mistakes everyone made were somehow your fault, especially _my_ mistakes. _You_ didn’t fail Kaede, ok? Kirumi did that the moment she saw her motive video and killed Ryoma to escape. _She_ betrayed Kaede’s wish, not you Shuichi. Rantaro _chose_ not to trust anyone in the beginning, so you shouldn’t blame yourself for something you had absolutely no control over Shuichi and the same goes for Ryoma. He didn’t have a reason to live, but he _chose_ to not find something worth living for which, again, is something you had no control over. As for me,” all Kokichi can do is look down and sigh as he prepares to express his last thoughts “there really isn’t much I can say that you don’t already know, right? I acted like such a big baddie because it kept you guys united in a sense, which is what everyone needed. Even if I isolated myself in the process it was a possibility that I was fine with. I painted myself the villain because it was a necessary action in trying to end the game, and I don’t want you believing for a second that your words to me after Gonta’s trial are what pushed me to take more… _drastic_ actions. As manipulative as it may have been all of your reactions just meant that everything was going as planned. What really sucks is that you were the only one who even _tried_ to see past my bullshit, and then I broke what little trust you may have had in me just so I could make you guys hate me even more.”

 

Shuichi stays silent as Kokichi speaks, and only responds by squeezing back at the smaller boy’s hand when he believes the words coming out of Kokichi’s mouth are much harder to say than he lets on. “Even if you didn’t have any trust in me, _you_ were the one I trusted most to finally put an end to the killing game if something happened to me. When I was slowly dying on that press there was a small part of me that secretly hoped you’d figure out our plan, and it turned out I was right. But you didn’t let mine and big br-”he manages to cut himself off before resuming “-mine and _Kaito’s_ deaths or our plan go to waste; you ended up being the one to shut down both the killing game and Team Danganronpa! Because of you no more people are going to be forced into those sick killing games, even if they were never real to begin with.” Shuichi manages to catch a familiar glimmer in those violet eyes as Kokichi commends Shuichi’s final actions in the game, and the former detective can’t help but smile. A sudden warmness steadily takes over his chest after hearing Kokichi’s kind words of affirmation.

 

A small, peaceful smile forms on Kokichi’s face as he slowly leans forward to meet the other boy’s forehead with his own, catching Shuichi a bit by surprise as their noses now barely touch one another. “Shuichi,” Kokichi whispers as he meets Shuichi’s gaze once again, noticing the very faint blush forming on the latter’s face “please promise me that you’re not gonna think twice about being proud of all the great things you’ve done, and that you’ll stop believing those lies that you keep telling yourself. Okay?” He closes the gap between the two of them and plants a soft kiss on Shuichi’s lips, whose eyes shut slowly as he leans into the kiss. Kokichi can feel Shuichi’s smile form as their kiss continues and he is glad to have successfully helped his boyfriend calm down. Though there is still the lingering self-blame for making him panic to begin with, Kokichi is going to appreciate his small victory.

 

A moment passes before the two separate from the kiss, Shuichi’s grip around Kokichi’s hands more relaxed now compared to a few minutes ago. “Kokichi…I…” Shuichi pauses to wipe off the remaining tears on his cheek with his sleeve “thank you. It’s really hard for me to not doubt myself, I was…so weak back then and no matter what I did I always thought my best was never good enough. It always seemed easier to blame myself for what others did just so _they_ didn’t feel horrible about their actions. We were all forced into a situation we thought there was no coming back from. I…don’t think I’ll ever fully get over what happened back then, none of us ever will, but I can’t grow if I just stay fixated on the past. So I can promise that I’ll try to not let self-doubt get the better of me, but even if it does I know you’ll be there to bring me back. We’ll move forward together.” He smiles that same hopeful smile Kokichi loves waking up to in the morning, a kind of smile that says Shuichi can’t wait for whatever the two of them do that day. A smile that says he’s looking forward to the future ahead of them.  

 

“Nishishi, well it’s a good thing you see things my way my beloved Shuichi!” Kokichi chuckles lightly “After all it seems kinda weird that you’d be the one to panic about the press. I mean that thing ‘crushed’ me like a year ago but I don’t really let it get to me so you shouldn’t either, right Shuichi?” He’s trying to lighten the mood and the brief laugh that escapes Kokichi was only slightly forced, but Shuichi pretends he doesn’t notice it.

  

This was a lie. They both knew that much, but it was a kind lie told in an attempt to ease Shuichi. The former Ultimate Detective doesn’t have it in him to bring up the obvious contradiction in Kokichi’s words, especially since the boy is trying his hardest to make Shuichi feel better. He doesn’t want to bring up how Kokichi’s screams or cries, usually brought upon by random nightmares, have startled Shuichi out of his sleep. He doesn’t want to mention how the small leader has mumbled in his sleep during these night terrors. How he’d panic over the steel press that, judging from his movements in his sleep, would be inching closer and closer to crushing him. How he’d cry over Gonta, whose execution he’d be forced to re-watch based off the winces on Kokichi’s sleeping face, while sobbing out apology after apology for the gentle giant. It pains his heart to remember these instances where the normally loud and proud Kokichi Ouma had been reduced to a curled up mess hiding under their blankets like a frightened child. But no matter how many nights this happened Shuichi always responded to Kokichi’s nightmares by slowly bringing the smaller boy closer to his chest and holding him tight, being cautious as he slowly rubbed Kokichi’s back while clasping the trembling boy’s hand in his own. He made sure to stay wide awake until Kokichi’s sobs would cease completely, signifying that they chased away the terrors away for the night and that Kokichi could dream in peace.

 

“Right, off course” He nervously chuckles back to Kokichi as he scratches the back of his head. Kokichi quickly nods making the antlers on his onesie bounce forward with each bow of his head, prompting Shuichi to snicker into his hand. The smaller boy turns his attention to the table in the living room before leaning over to seize the cups of hot chocolate and handing Shuichi his designated cup. Both boys were very thankful the cups managed to remain warm despite the time it took to calm Shuichi down. Shuichi readjusts the blankets around the two of them so they can properly cozy up with one another.

 

With his free hand Kokichi places Shuichi’s arm over his shoulder and interlocks their fingers together, allowing him to scoot in closer and look up at his boyfriend. “Alright then Shuichi here’s our game plan!” He exclaims “We’re gonna drink this chocolate that I’m sure is waaay better than Mom’s gross homemade hot chocolate, we’ll finish watching _Shrek_ , take our showers, then head for Kaede and Rantaro’s party! Sound good?”           

 

“Well I don’t think that comment about the hot chocolate is exactly accurate,” though Shuichi is fairly certain that if he asked Kirumi she would gladly give him a good recipe for hot chocolate that _isn’t_ from a package “but aside from that the rest of your plan sounds fine Kokichi.” The two happily clank their mugs together as they each take a generous sip of their drinks, Kokichi letting out an exaggerated sigh of delight as he rests his head on Shuichi’s shoulders.

 

“Not too bad Shuichi! But if you just added _one_ more mini marshmallow and _two_ more drops of chocolate syrup it would’ve been perfect! All in all I give your hot cocoa…hmm…” Kokichi begins to rub his chin as if he were in serious thought before taking another sip of his drink for a more ‘accurate analysis’ as he puts it. Shuichi only rolls his eyes but decides to let this little gag play out. “I give the Shumai Special….four-and-a-half out of five stars! Good job Shuichi!” Kokichi gives his verdict as he takes another generous sip of his drink before handing the cup over to Shuichi, asking him to place it on the small black end table next to the couch. Shuichi also takes another small sip from his own cup before setting it next to Kokichi’s.

 

“Shumai Special?” He chuckles at the fact that his boyfriend actually _named_ the not-so-spectacular hot chocolate, but Shuichi also can’t help but be a little interested at the purple-headed reindeer’s rating of said drink. “Ok now I’m a little curious haha, what docked me that last half a point?” Kokichi’s smile immediately drops as he looks at Shuichi with a blank stare, sending a minor chill down the ex-detective’s spine. That was just from the December air right? He didn’t somehow offend Kokichi, did he? “Umm…Kokichi?”

 

“…You served me the hot chocolate in my Mimikyu mug.” He states matter-of-factly, keeping a straight face the entire time. The “seriousness” in his tone earns a small laugh from Shuichi that gradually grows in volume until the boy lightly clutches his stomach. Kokichi puffs out his cheeks in annoyance “Hey stop laughing!! You know that mug is _exclusively_ used for the super rare occasions I want my Panta in a glass and not straight from the bottle! Using this sacred mug for ANY other purpose is punishable by death!” He decides to demonstrate his point by poking Shuichi a single time in his ribs, but this only earns more laughs from Shuichi, who wipes a stray tear away from his tear ducts.

 

“Wow Kokichi, I didn’t know you could be so petty! That half point really could’ve helped me pursue culinary arts instead of law enforcement you know haha! ” His laughing slowly dying down, Kokichi can’t keep his straight face from cracking as his façade drops and he joins Shuichi in laughing over his false pettiness. Eventually Kokichi settles with cuddling up to Shuichi’s side and rests his head on the other boy’s shoulder, Shuichi brushes a strand of violet hair away from Kokichi’s face and leaves a kiss on his forehead, making the former leader blush. The two return their attention to the movie which now shows the title character and his donkey sidekick standing outside a large kingdom wall. The ogre on the screen cracks a joke to his companion about the king compensating for-wait, was he really making _that_ kind of joke in an animated film?

 

“Umm…this isn’t necessarily a _kid’s_ movie is it?” A confused smile appears on Shuichi’s face as he asks the boy beside him.   

 

Kokichi lets out a small giggle, wrapping his arms around Shuichi’s waist while doing so. “No~pe!” emphasizing the ‘p’ with an audible pop “This is probably far from being a normal kid’s movie, and that’s not a lie!” Shuichi chuckles and drapes his arm over Kokichi’s shoulder, grabbing the remote off the end table with his free hand to raise the volume of the TV as the two of them finally get comfortable enough to resume the film uninterrupted.

 

* * *

 

_Then I saw her face, now I’m a believer_

Kokichi takes it upon himself to grab the TV’s remote, using it like a makeshift microphone to sing along with the song. Well ‘sing along’ isn’t exactly the phrase Shuichi would use; it was more like Kokichi was purposely singing _over_ the music.   

 

_Not a trace of doubt in my mind_

Shuichi wasn’t complaining though, Kokichi has a great singing voice even when he purposely butchers the lyrics to a song. He can certainly brighten up the room whenever he wants. And more than anything he always knows how to get Shuichi to smile.

 

_I’m in loove~_

 

Kokichi exaggeratedly sprawls himself out on the couch as he holds the high note, resting his head down on Shuichi’s lap as he raises his finger to playfully boop the taller boy on the nose. Oh how Shuichi wishes his blush was subtle right now; there isn’t a shadow of a doubt in his mind that he loves Kokichi, but they’ve only been together for about a month and he still hasn’t mustered up the courage to say… _those_ words out loud yet. He wonders if Kokichi choosing to sing in the moment was just his way of saying those special words without _actually_ having to say them. Was he just as nervous about being the first one to say the words as Shuichi was? 

 

Seemingly growing bored of singing over the music Kokichi tosses the remote to some random part of the couch, the onscreen wedding resuming as he stands up to stretch his limbs. Shuichi decides to stay on the couch to stretch his arms upwards, releasing a faint yawn in doing so. As the former detective opens his eyes he’s met with a violet gaze and a mischievous grin, from his peripheral he could swear Kokichi was obscuring something behind his onesie. The boy moves a little closer to Shuichi, batting his eyes playfully as he inches closer.

 

“Heeeey Shuichi~…” They are face-to-face once again and Shuichi can’t help but become distracted by those glimmering purple irises.

 

“Y-Yeah?”

 

His eyes still locked onto Kokichi, Shuichi feels a weight drop suddenly into his hands. Shuichi looks down at his lap to learn the identity of the unknown object, only to find the empty mugs that once held hot chocolate. He slowly raises his head back up, looking back at his boyfriend with a deadpan expression as if to say ‘ _really Kokichi?’_ and the boy in question can’t help but snicker at how easily he tricked his beloved. “Could you be a dear and wash our cups so I can take my shower first? M’kay thanks bye!” Instead of waiting for a response Kokichi settles for patting Shuichi’s head like he was a prized show dog and begins to walk away from the couch feeling triumphant until a hand seizes his wrist. _“Eh, it was worth a shot!”_ realizing he’s been busted he turns around while disguising his defeat through a playful smile, only to be met by an equally playful smirk from Shuichi.

 

“As you wish your Majesty.” He bows toward Kokichi and leaves a kiss on the hand he’s currently holding, furrowing his eyebrows as he smirks yet again at Kokichi. The boy lets out a quiet gasp as he tugs his hand away from Shuichi’s grasp in an attempt to hide how flustered he is. Even in changing his expression to one of minor annoyance the small blush on Kokichi’s face is more than enough for Shuichi to feel like he got the upper hand on his boyfriend. And Kokichi crossing his arms while pouting only makes him look even cuter to Shuichi.

 

“Awww man Shuichi it’s no fun when you just play along right away!”

 

“Well, it’s no fun for _you_. _I_ actually enjoy being able to catch you off guard sometimes!” He playfully messes with the violet set of locks in the same way his own hair was treated earlier. The sleeves of Kokichi’s reindeer onesie sway in the air as he continually swats Shuichi’s hands away, earning a few laughs from his boyfriend in doing so. Shuichi continues to tease Kokichi as they make their way toward the kitchen until Kokichi stops in front of Shuichi’s bedroom door.

 

“Ok, _I’m_ supposed to tease _you_ not the other way around! Congrats Shuichi, you’re sleeping on the couch tonight!” He dramatically turns around, sassily placing his hands on his hips and opens Shuichi’s door as he enters the bedroom. Shuichi can’t help but imagine Kokichi waving a long black cape behind him to emphasis his exit. “ _I would_ not _put it past him to actually own a cape for moments like this.”_

 

“Umm Kokichi, you do know this is _my_ apartment and that I have a spare room right haha?”

 

“Don’t care! Sleep on the couch anyway!” Kokichi calls back, likely already in Shuichi’s bathroom given how muffled the voice seemed to be. Letting out a small nervous laugh, Shuichi continues to head toward the kitchen but almost falls to the floor when a sudden weight slams into him from behind. “Nishishi but that was just a lie!” Kokichi hugs Shuichi from behind, his small arms giving Shuichi a quick squeeze as he tiptoes to kiss the back of Shuichi’s neck. “Thanks again for doing the dishes babe!” Shuichi hears Kokichi shout before the boy scurries back into the bedroom while Shuichi walks over to the kitchen sink and turns the faucet’s chrome handle to start rinsing out the cups.  

 

While his apartment complex wasn’t one of the pricier complexes in the city, Shuichi still felt satisfied with what would be his new home for the next four school years. He knew that he wouldn’t be comfortable living in a dorm, even just for a year, given how close quarters the room would be therefore limiting any amount of privacy he’d have so he settled for getting an apartment. The complex itself had a very convenient bus stop located right across from the complex’s front office, and the campus shuttle bus was very reliable since it could get Shuichi to campus in about ten or fifteen minutes, even if he wasn’t lucky enough to grab a seat the ride to campus isn’t too unbearable. Hopefully he can get his own vehicle by sophomore year so he doesn’t have to heavily rely on the bus schedules to get him around the city.

 

When it came to choosing an apartment Shuichi didn’t want to get a set up that would make him use up all of his money from scholarships and his… _winnings_. To him doing that would almost be like saying he was relying on Team Danganronpa for everything, especially after being the one to shut them down. While the company handed out prize money to all of the “participants”, with those who survived longer getting larger sums, they also agreed to provide additional funds for any of the participants who wanted to pursue a college degree after graduating high school by providing a special grant. Shuichi did not want to live alone but at the same time did not feel comfortable enough to room with multiple complete strangers, especially with how awkward he is about meeting new people even after getting the confidence boost from Kaito and Kaede. To compromise Shuichi settled on renting an apartment with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and was pre-furnished; the price wasn’t too unreasonable and he’d only have to worry about getting to know one stranger as opposed to three.    

 

On move-in day, however, the main office had informed Shuichi that his intended roommate had some unexpected issues arise that would prevent them from attending school for the Spring semester, but that they would be able to move in during the Fall semester. In other words, he wouldn’t be getting a new roommate because of how last minute everything was and would have to live alone with a makeshift guest room for a full semester. Initially he wanted to ask Kaede if she’d want to share a lease, but Shuichi knew she wanted to give the dorms a try, at least for a year, since she saw it as an opportunity to bond with a new person. Though looking back on it he is sort of glad he chose not to suggest the idea; granted Kaede was one of his best friends and would not have minded living with Shuichi, but given the two’s…history…Shuichi didn’t want to risk things eventually becoming awkward.

 

The cleaned cups are set on the drying rack, but noticing that there are a few dirty plates in the sink Shuichi decides to kill time by cleaning them off while Kokichi is still showering.

 

“Hey Shuichi?” He looks up from his chore toward the direction of his bedroom and sees Kokichi leaning back against his door, a curious expression on the shorter male’s face. The first thing Shuichi notices is that the top portion of Kokichi’s onesie has been taken off and is now hanging behind the boy, leaving Kokichi bare-chested with the lower part of the onesie still intact. Sure the two have seen each other shirtless plenty of times, but Shuichi still clumsily fidgets with the dishes, making each of them clink and clatter as he pretends not to be distracted by Kokichi’s exposed skin. Kokichi either fails to notice or chooses to ignore Shuichi not-so-subtly being flustered as he tilts his head to the side “Do you want to shower with me?” he asks, his tone seeming genuine.

 

_“W-Wait! Kokichi isn’t suggesting we d-do_ that _is he?!?”_ Shuichi stammers in his head. Even with how long they’ve been together the two haven’t reached _that_ level in their relationship yet; the farthest they’ve ever gotten is taking off their shirts during a heated makeout session! They both have talked about wanting their first time to be special, but considering neither of them have even said “I love you” out loud would it even be right? Kokichi seems to catch Shuichi stumbling around in his head and lets out an over exaggerated gasp as he brings his hands over his mouth.

 

 “Oh my!” the false shock on Kokichi’s face is soon replaced with a mischievous smirk “Is my beloved Shuichi thinking up some dirty thoughts in that pervy brain of his?!? I guess Mister Detective isn’t as pure-minded as he claims to be!”

 

The plates not so subtly clank against each other when Shuichi suddenly drops whatever he was cleaning into the sink to rapidly wave his hands in front of himself, attempting to clear himself of the accusation “Wait wh-what?!? N-No Kokichi you’ve got that wr-wrong! I swear I was just-“                      

 

“Nishishi relax Shuichi I was just teasing you! Consider it payback for earlier. Though I was actually being serious about suggesting we take a shower together. I mean your walk-in shower is big enough to fit the two of us so why not? Plus with how cold it is outside I don’t want to accidentally use up all the hot water myself since I’d feel really shitty about it afterwards.” Shuichi observed the boy’s mannerisms and it didn’t seem as if he had an ulterior motive behind his words. True both of them would be seeing each other naked for the first time, but he and Kokichi could still control their hormones even if they were in such an intimate space. Kokichi lets out a sigh “I promise this isn’t a lie Shuichi, I’m just suggesting this for convenience, no tricks or hidden motives, and in the end it’s up to you anyway.” He gives Shuichi one of his smaller smiles before he turns back into the room “I’m still heading in first, so if you choose to join me just don’t take too long okay?”

 

As Shuichi turns his attention back to the remaining dishes in the sink he hears the shower being turned on in his bathroom, Kokichi likely left the door open in case Shuichi chose to come in. He continues to scrub off the bits of food left on a plate _“Should I just join him? It did sound like he was being considerate, and I don’t think he’d lie about something he knows would make me uncomfortable.”_ Shuichi puts the last dirty dish on the drying rack, tapping his fingers on the countertop in serious thought. _“I guess it won’t be a big deal, I-I mean plenty of couples bathe around each other without it leading to something, right?”_ He makes his way out of the kitchen and starts to remove his shirt, the sudden exposure to the cold air pricking at his skin. _“And Kokichi might think he creeped me out if I don’t show up, I don’t want to make him feel bad._ ” Upon entering the room he spots the reindeer onesie and Kokichi’s striped underwear on the floor, he snatches up both pieces of clothing and gently lays the onesie on his bed then discards the underwear into a laundry basket. Removing his own sweatpants and laying them with his shirt and socks on the bed, Shuichi reaches for the elastic of his underwear but finds his hands tensing up as he touches the fabric. Releasing a small breath he wasn’t aware that he was holding, Shuichi tugs down on the sides of his last piece of clothing and tosses it into the basket.  

 

Stepping into the bathroom, which is already filled with a fair amount of steam judging by the fogged up mirror, Shuichi spots Kokichi’s blurry figure through the shower door. The boy has his back toward Shuichi and doesn’t appear to have picked up on his presence as he continues to wash his violet locks, the soaked hair reaching about halfway to his neck. Shuichi steps closer to the shower and slides the door open, Kokichi jolts up slightly at the noise but moves under the water to wash out the shampoo in his hair as Shuichi gets in and shuts the door. Shuichi relaxes a bit when he feels some of the water droplets make contact with his skin, the water is just hot enough without being too scolding. The smell of Kokichi’s lavender shampoo lingers in the air and it’s quite the soothing scent, perhaps taking Kokichi up on his offer wasn’t as scary as Shuichi initially thought it to be.

 

Without even thinking Shuichi glances down at his boyfriend’s body, admiring the curve of the shorter boy’s back as his eyes wander lower but thankfully the steam accumulating in the shower manages to discreetly cover him and Kokichi from the waist down. His face starts turning cherry red upon realizing that he was _trying_ to see Kokichi naked _“Gah! Do-Don’t be a creeper Shuichi!”_ He spots his shampoo bottle on the shower rack, hastily reaching for it and quickly scrubbing it into his hair _“Just focus on the sh-shower…your hair… j-just distract yourself!”_ He moves a little further under the shower head to rinse his hair, though his ahoge somehow manages to stay pointed up even with water cascading directly on it.

 

Kokichi starts scrubbing body wash over himself with a shower sponge, with the exception of his back which he can’t reach fully, then holds it over his shoulder once he’s gotten mostly covered “You need the sponge next Shuichi?” He tiptoes upward to the showerhead to get the suds off his body faster.

 

“Umm yes, thank you.” He takes the sponge and mirrors Kokichi’s actions, but also fails at being able to completely reach his back. He sees Kokichi reach for his shampoo again, _“or maybe it’s conditioner?”_ Shuichi honestly couldn’t tell the difference between Kokichi’s shower products, but he does find it strange that the entire time they’ve been showering Kokichi hasn’t turned around to face him once. Surely by now Kokichi would’ve teased him for deciding to shower together or cracked a joke about not dropping the soap or kissed him for being adventurous or _something._ Come to think of it, he does recall Kokichi being a little startled when he joined him in the shower and the boy seems to be avoiding any kind of eye contact. Did he think Shuichi wouldn’t join him so now he’s feeling awkward about the whole ordeal? Whatever it may be, Shuichi decides to try and remedy the situation “Umm Kokichi, do you maybe want me to wash your back for you?”

 

He appears to hesitate for a brief second then nods slowly “Um…y-yeah, please.” The response barely escapes as a whisper, the only source of sound now being the water splashing onto the shower tiles under their feet. Placing one hand on the shorter boy’s shoulder, Shuichi gently presses the sponge into Kokichi’s back, drawing trails of soapy foam across the pale skin as the boy relaxes into sponge’s touch. After thoroughly covering Kokichi’s back with the body wash Shuichi watches his handiwork wash away once he squeezes the water-soaked sponge onto Kokichi’s back. The boy stretches his hand behind his back, leaving his palm open for Shuichi to hand him back the shower sponge “I-I’ll wash your back now, i-if you want.” Once again, Kokichi’s volume is too quiet and hesitant for Shuichi’s liking.

 

“O-Ok.” Shuichi complies, placing the sponge into the boy’s hand before turning around to allow Kokichi to get started. He feels Kokichi press the sponge against his back and begins to randomly scrub around the area, though Kokichi doesn’t seem to be in a hurry as he slowly draws out each stroke across Shuichi’s back. Much like how Kokichi reacted before, Shuichi finds himself leaning into the smaller boy’s indirect touch, feeling strangely calm with the intimate scenario occurring between them. His backside now covered with the vanilla-scented soap, Shuichi hears the excess soap dripping onto the tile as it gets wrung out of the shower sponge. A few seconds pass before he feels water splash down onto a portion of his back, the soap that was once there now trickling down his leg like a stream. Once Kokichi finishes the task of washing Shuichi’s back, which the latter felt was purposely dragged out much like the initial scrubbing of his back, this unspoken tension seems to fill the air of shower. Feeling the need to take action Shuichi slowly turns around and begins to examine Kokichi’s features now that the two are face-to-face, sort of. Something is clearly upsetting Kokichi; Shuichi notices the boy staring down at the floor (or at least whatever is visible given the amount of steam in the shower), nervously fidgeting with his fingers as he holds the dripping shower sponge. The water pouring down them seems to be the only sound echoing in their immediate space.

 

_“I don’t want to press him if he doesn’t want to talk, but I_ need _to know what could be bothering him so much.”_ He lays his hands on Kokichi’s shoulders, the boy tenses slightly at Shuichi’s sudden contact. “Kokichi, you can tell me if something is bothering you.” He doesn’t want to come off too forceful, otherwise Kokichi may just drop the subject entirely.

 

“Don’t worry about it Shuichi it’s nothing ok…” Sure he says that, but the subtle tinge of discord in his tone is telling Shuichi otherwise. The wet violet locks sticking to Kokichi’s face seem to shadow his full features away from the faux detective, almost as if he’s donning a very weak mask.

 

Shuichi impulsively reaches his hand up to brush the slicked bangs to side, being cautious in removing the mask of hair hiding Kokichi’s face. “Kokichi, don’t be afraid to tell me the truth… _please_.”His plea doesn’t seem to go on deaf ears as he sees the purple irises beginning to water, and its cause isn’t from the shower raining down on the two of them. Instinctively Shuichi pulls the smaller boy closer to his body, allowing him to rest his head against the ex-detective’s chest. His arms lightly coil around Kokichi’s back, while the other boy settles for laying his arm against Shuichi’s chest.

 

The sound of running water gets tuned out in favor of the sound of soft whimpers. Shuichi feels the body below him tremble as Kokichi buries his head further into the taller boy’s chest. Compared to the water showering the two of them, the sudden wetness Shuichi feels dripping onto his torso is much warmer.      

          

Kokichi did tell himself he’d cry later, he just thought he’d have more time to do it in private. “I’m…I’m sorry for making you think about that stuff earlier.”

 

“Kokichi…” Shuichi wants to do nothing more than assure the boy that he isn’t the one at fault, when suddenly Kokichi looks up to face him, tears visible despite the shower attempting to disguise them.

 

“But Shuichi please don’t ever put yourself down like that again,” he chokes out “it kills me to hear you say such horrible things about yourself. Y-You don’t deserve that kind of negativity…I k-know I’m not really the best with co-comforting people so-“he feels a hand cup his cheek and a pair of lips meet his own. There is a gentleness behind the kiss, almost as if it was saying _‘calm down...I'm here for you’_ , and when Kokichi opens his eyes he’s met with familiar onyx eyes (which seem to have a slight golden shimmer in this lighting) staring back at him with utmost compassion.   

 

“Kokichi I know you weren’t trying to make me upset, I did that to myself. If anything you were the one who helped bring me out of it, so give yourself the credit you deserve.” He flashes Kokichi his purest smile while moving the boy’s dripping bangs away from his face once again. “ I’m…sorry if me having a panic attack freaked you out,” Shuichi’s eyes show express his guilt as he briefly looks away from his boyfriend “but I promise that I won’t put that kind of stress on you again.”

 

The faux supreme leader hiccups through his whimpers “Shuichi…what did I ever do to deserve someone like you?” His lips curve into soft smile when he looks up at Shuichi, and he feels the tears slowly coming to their end. The question is answered in the form of a kiss to his forehead.

 

“…You just had to be yourself.” To say the flustered look Kokichi gave him when he says this was cute would be an understatement. The smaller boy pulls Shuichi in for a hug, attempting to hide his blushing face and his remaining tears by burying his face into Shuichi’s chest yet again. He wraps his arms around the shorter boy’s back in return.

 

Kokichi sniffles out a few more tears, but in his heart he knows these are tears of happiness, not of sadness. “You’re so kind Shuichi… _that’s why I love you…_ ” He hears a small gasp and when he looks up at Shuichi the boy is staring back at him with a surprised look in his eyes. Kokichi’s eyes widen in realization “ _Oh crap…Did I just say that out loud?!?”_   Yet he doesn’t try to laugh it off or say it was a lie, he just settles with staring back at Shuichi despite his blush and nervous expression being on full display. Why wasn’t Shuichi saying anything? Was it- was it possible that maybe Shuichi didn’t feel the same way?

   

“I…I love you too, Kokichi.” The blush on Shuichi’s face almost matches Kokichi’s in color; he was honestly surprised Kokichi was the first to say ‘I love you’, but with that slip of the tongue he didn’t seem as nervous about saying those words himself. The anxiety he always associated with the phrase now nonexistent.

 

Kokichi squeezes Shuichi closer “You’re not lying to me…right?”   

 

“I would never lie about something like this Kokichi, I swear.” Shuichi’s eyes told Kokichi all he needed to know: he had no intention of hiding this big a truth from Kokichi.   

 

“Then I want you to promise me this: that no matter what we stick together. We’ve been through hell and worse together, and if life decides to be a bitch to us we don’t let it tear us apart. To throw away what we have would be like throwing away our entire past and future together. I…I know I’m a lot to handle…but you’ve never given up on me and I sure as hell won’t ever give up on you! Is that ok with you Shuichi?”

 

Shuichi doesn’t have to stress over his answer, just hearing Kokichi mention the possibility of a future together was enough to convince him that the two of them are in it for the long run. “Kokichi…I promise that I’ll stay by your side for as long as you’ll have me. That’s a choice I don’t have to think twice about.” The two look into each other’s eyes, both of them filled with just as much happiness as the other. Shuichi lowers his head just as Kokichi tiptoes himself up to meet Shuichi halfway and they kiss once again, paying little attention to the still running shower that is slowly lowering in temperature.

 

Once their lips part Shuichi rests his head on Kokichi’s, the shorter boy settles with resting against Shuichi’s shoulder instead. The two relax into each other’s embrace, not caring for the lukewarm water still covering their already clean bodies from head to toe or their slightly pruning fingers. Even the initial awkwardness of being naked so close to one another seems to have disappeared. “Hey, you don’t mind if we stay this way for a little bit longer do you?” Kokichi asks “It’s just…I kinda like this…”

 

Shuichi runs his fingers through Kokichi’s hair and plants another kiss on his boyfriend’s forehead “I don’t mind it all.” He lets his eyes shut, taking in the scent of the lavender shampoo, a scent he’ll probably associate with the boy in arms from now on.

 

_Lavender._

 

A scent that reminds Shuichi of the person who can make him laugh and smile.

 

A scent to represent the person Shuichi continues to learn more and more about each day.

  

A scent associated with someone he has shared the highest of highs and the lowest of lows with.

 

A scent tied to Kokichi Ouma, the boy that Shuichi loves and who loves Shuichi in return.

 

Shuichi Saihara loves Kokichi Ouma.

 

And Kokichi Ouma loves him.

 

The past year has definitely been…interesting to say the least, but a year ago he couldn’t have possibly have guessed what life would entail for him.

   

_The day we woke up…_

_Now_ that _is an interesting memory…_

_Hehe, to think that so much has changed in just a year…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you have it! Sorry if the ending was a little rushed, but hopefully you guys enjoyed this! Feel free to leave comments, guesses in the plot, criticism, etc! Next two chapters will be set in the past and our first stop is the day our survivors escaped the 53rd Killing Game!
> 
> Some unused dialogue:  
> "Shuichi, its ok to doubt people's actions, even your own, but believing something must be your fault to try and justify someone else's mistakes is no different than lying to yourself. And you know how much I hate liars, right?
> 
> (I couldn't for the life of me find a good place to use this XD)


	2. Still Alive part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shuichi wakes up after escaping the killing game. He learns the truth from two new faces, and reunites with a couple of familiar faces.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter ended up being WAAAY longer than I originally thought it'd be! Like longer than Chapter 1, which I sort of planned to be long XD!
> 
> Because of this I decided to split it up; thankfully I already have an idea of what happens next chapter so it shouldn't take as long to write (hopefully work doesn't prevent me from doing this) and HOPEFULLY it doesn't come out as long haha.

 

* * *

 

_I’ve learned to lose, I’ve learned to win_

_I turn my face against the wind_

_I will move fast, I will move slow_

_Take me where I have to go_

 

* * *

 

_ Time Unknown _

 

The Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles lays in ruin. The flames coming off of the destroyed debris around the academy have died down. And the dark smoke that was once surrounding the area is now completely gone. At the entrance of the academy was the large boulder that Tsumugi Shirogane and Monokuma were now crushed under, the ones responsible for the past few weeks of suffering and turmoil were met with karma in the end. This fictional world came to an end, the nightmare that is _Danganronpa_ was no more.

 

Maki Harukawa, Shuichi Saihara, and Himiko Yumeno, the three fortunate enough to escape from the killing game with their lives, now stand staring out at the bright light shining down on them. The End Wall could no longer hold them, having been destroyed as a result of Keebo self-destructing as he charged into it; his was the final sacrifice that would help them escape from this prison school for good.  

 

The trio continues to walk toward the broken barrier, the bright light from the outside world beckoning them closer and closer. The survivors hold small talk as they inch closer to the line dividing fiction from reality; accepting the fact that they somehow lived through the destruction of the academy, debating whether the final words from the former Ultimate Cosplayer were truths or lies, and wondering just how much they managed to change reality from within a fictional world.

 

What could the future have in store for three survivors of a fictional killing game, especially survivors who were supposed to die when said killing game shut itself down from within?

 

Now only a few feet away from the white light slowing growing in brightness, Shuichi gives his fellow survivors a final remark as they anxiously steer toward the future “We stand with one foot in fiction and one foot in reality.”

 

“Then we need to see for ourselves whether this fictional world has changed the outside world. And what we can do from this point on…” Maki flashes a small smile to Shuichi and Himiko, ready to escape this world with her friends.

 

The small mage nervously nods in compliance “You’re right. We can’t stay in this fictional world forever. It’s already over. We gotta take all the experience we earned in this world and go on to the next.” She does her best to sound brave as they prepare to step out into the unknown, together.

 

“Yeah. Let’s go. We’ll see what this world gained, and what it lost, and all the rest.” Shuichi meets the eyes of both Himiko and Maki, the trio nod in synch and proceed toward the light one step at a time.  

 

Shuichi decides to slow his pace slightly to allow the mage and assassin a bit of a step ahead of him “Let’s find out, together.” Without looking back Himiko and Maki both allow the light to engulf them, their bodies now disappearing within the source of light, but Shuichi decides to stop a bit before the barrier.

 

He takes one last glance at the ruins of the Ultimate Academy, a bittersweet smile forming on his face. Looking back at everything that happened to him over the course of the killing game, he takes a moment to silently thank those who could not stand there with him and exit this fiction alongside him. A small tear pricks his eye as he thinks of the friends who sacrificed themselves so that he, Maki, and Himiko could live on and escape from this nightmare. Looking up at the peak of the dome, which no longer displays an artificial sky, Shuichi finds his heart saying a silent prayer for some of his fallen friends.

 

_Kaede… thank you for helping me realize that I can’t hide from the truth forever. There won’t be a day that goes by where I won’t miss your warm smile, or the feeling of your hand holding mine to help ease me. I’ll keep you close to my heart, always._

He feels his fist clench at his side, both in anger and in trying to keep the tears from falling this early.

 

_Y-you…you_ deserved _to make it out with us…you didn’t kill_ anyone _and its bullshit that they killed you anyway…_

Shuichi wipes his tears away before they could become uncontrollable, not wanting to make the others wait too long. 

_Kaito…you were the one who brought us all up when we were at our lowest and you believed that everyone deserved to be believed in. You…you didn’t_ have _to try and make me feel better, but you chose to anyway._

Remembering the astronaut’s recklessness and bravery seems to lift Shuichi’s mood a bit, judging by the dorky smile showing up on his face.

 

_Even at the very end you died a hero and…and not matter what I’ll always be your sidekick, you helped shape who I am now and I couldn’t be more grateful to you._

Though he wants to stay longer and give final parting words to the others lost in the killing game, Shuichi knows he’s left Maki and Himiko waiting for too long. Turning back toward the light he moves one foot ahead, ready to embrace the outside world until the cheeky grin of a certain supreme leader flashes in his mind.

 

_Kokichi…_

 

With what he discovered about the boy in the final parts of the game, especially during the fifth trial, Shuichi realizes that he should try to find something to say to the late leader.

 

Especially when Shuichi knows it’s too late to thank the boy in person.

 

_I…don’t know where to start with you…you kept your true colors hidden until the very end, even with the times I tried to get to know you it only added to the bigger mystery that is you. I…wish we could have worked together to end the game, and if it weren’t for your actions toward the end I don’t think I could’ve discovered the_ real _truth._

He can’t help but chuckle at that irony.

 

_Heh, what were the odds that a liar would help me reach the truth?_

_…Thank you, Kokichi…I…I hope you’ve at least found peace where you are…_

Shuichi glances up at the sky one more time “Thank you everyone,” he says out loud “wherever you guys are. I hope that you’ll watch over the three of us, with twelve guardian angels keeping us safe the future may not be so bleak.”

 

He now stands a mere step away from the light “When our time comes and we see you all again, I hope you welcome us with open arms.”

 

_Until then everyone…take care…_

 

As Shuichi leaves the academy behind him and steps into the light, his body is filled with a strange warmness and his body almost feels like its floating.

 

 

 

And then the world…

 

 

 

Warped.  

* * *

 

_ August 2017 _

 

Shuichi didn’t know how to describe what was happening to him. First of all the space he was in, if this even _was_ a space to begin with, was completely shrouded in darkness. No matter where he looked every area was covered with shadows, and no source of light seemed to be trying to grab his attention. The area was so dark that even if Shuichi tried, he couldn’t even see his own hand in front of face. Which is how he came to discover another concerning matter; for some reason he couldn’t move any part of his body, yet he didn’t feel like he was being bound by restraints. Rather he could not _feel_ his body to begin with, like there wasn’t a body _to_ feel. He tries to move his arm, attempting to send brain waves to the necessary muscles to perform the action, but Shuichi doesn’t feel the body part follow through. Shuichi decides to think smaller and attempts to wave his hand or flex any of his fingers, but once again it’s like his brain doesn’t find an outlet to perform these actions. He can _think_ of any action he wants but it’s almost as if his body and his mind weren’t connected at all, and all he could do is stay forever trapped in his own mind.

 

 

_What happened?_

 

_Where were Himiko and Maki?_

 

_Where was_ he?

 

 

_Could they all be experiencing the same thing?_

So many questions he wishes could be deduced with logic alone, but when you can’t even move your body or see if there is anything around you what logic are you supposed to even follow?

 

It’s only after he thinks this that Shuichi manages to finally feel something. The feeling is very faint, but it’s almost as if he has control of his body again and the only word he could think to describe this feeling in his body is _floaty_. He is definitely not moving his body of his own volition, someone or something else is doing this and Shuichi can’t help himself from starting to worry. _“I…need to…see…what…”_ The feeling of sluggishness starts to enter his body, but not wanting to lose total sense of consciousness Shuichi tries to will his eyes open and figure out what the hell is going on. Through the smallest slits of his eyes Shuichi can only see very blurry lumps of colors take up his vision; there aren’t any noticeable details to comprehend and it was almost as if both eyes were trapped in a thick fog.

 

 

_“He...las…on…rom…the…po…”_

_“Be…care…putt…im…on…stret…”_

 

 

_”Oh…it…ook…li…pati…ming...to!”_

 

 

_“…et...him...o...a...roo...uick!”_

 

Strange voices he’s never heard before start filling his ears, but their words are muffled beyond comprehension and he doesn’t really get any helpful information other than finding the ones responsible for his weightlessness, it was very likely someone was carrying him at the moment. Though his vision is still blurry Shuichi feels himself being gently placed onto something that feels like a bed, however he starts to feel the bed start to move underneath him. Just as Shuichi is about to force himself awake something is placed over his face, he guesses that it’s likely to be something similar to an oxygen mask. Before he could even get a word out Shuichi notices his vision start to grow blurrier and his eyelids begin to feel heavier. Grogginess steadily takes over his body and everything slowly becomes limp.

 

Eventually everything in his world goes dark once again.                

 

* * *

 

The sound of a clock ticking echoes in the room as the hands of the wall clock move, changing from seconds to minutes as time slowly passes by. Shuichi begins to stir in his hospital bed as he slowly begins to wake up from his slumber, the occasional dripping of the fluid in his IV bag now joining the clock’s ticking in being the first sounds the boy is able to hear clearly. Letting a small groan escape him as he stretches the last bit of drowsiness out of his limbs Shuichi’s eyes start to wonder around the room, trying to get a better grasp of his situation. It seems like his “Ultimate Detective” title may be of use for a little while longer.

 

Considering he has an IV bag, he’s wearing what appears to be a dark navy hospital gown, and a heart monitor attached to his body it’s clear to Shuichi that _someone_ is keeping an eye on his health. The T.V. monitor mounted on the wall and the room’s lights have both been turned off, which Shuichi was a little grateful for; the last thing he wanted was to wake up to any unnecessary noise or bright fluorescent lights that would burn his retinas. This clued him in that the possible staff watching over him (and hopefully watching Maki and Himiko as well) were trying to be considerate about letting him sleep peacefully _“Just how long have I been asleep anyway? And just where the hell am I anyway?”_ The ray of early sunlight coming through the open blinds of his window was currently the only source of light in his room. Because he cannot immediately see the grass or any trees out the window, Shuichi believes he must be on a higher floor of the building. Near the window was a single cushioned chair, with a similar-styled chair situated next to Shuichi’s bed, that Shuichi noticed held a navy blue duffel bag which he assumed held his belongings. He was dreading opening the bag, expecting loads of _Danganronpa_ merchandise to come pouring out as if to remind him of the obsessed, sick-minded person who _willingly_ took part in a television show in hopes of killing someone and who _anticipated_ being executed.

 

_“Was that person the real_ _me? Who even am_ **I** _?”_

 

A few knocks come from his door, allowing him a moment to shake off his thoughts questioning what exactly could be fact and what could be lies. Shuichi adjusts himself on the bed as the handle turns and the door opens with enough space for an older-looking woman with glasses to peak her head through the frame. When she takes notice of Shuichi the woman sends a tender smile his way “Oh, it seems you’ve finally woken up Mr. Saihara!” her voice was very warm and inviting, almost motherly. “Is it ok if we come and turn the lights on?” The woman was so polite Shuichi thinks it’d be rude to deny her, so he nods his head in the woman’s direction to signify his consent. Nodding back at Shuichi’s response the woman opens the door further allowing her and a younger-looking woman to step into the room, the latter giggling softly when she spots the boy covering his eyes as she reaches to flip on the light switch.

 

With more light in the room Shuichi is able to get a better look at the two women making their way towards him. The older of the two women appears to be in her mid-to-late thirties with light blue eyes that compliment the short, ocean-colored hair that barely reaches up to her neck. She wears a pure white lab coat over a light blue blouse and black slacks, one of the clipboards she has is suddenly handed over to the younger woman. The younger woman, who looks to be in her mid-twenties, has an overall aesthetic that could only be described as…pink. From the light pink locks of her shoulder-length hair, to her eyes of a matching color, even her white nursing scrubs had small trims of magenta on the sleeves and pockets; Shuichi couldn’t shake the feeling that this woman’s personality was probably _very_ bubbly.      

 

“Now then Mr. Saihara, how are you feeling after waking up? Are there any symptoms you would like us to be aware of?” The blue-haired woman asks with concern and intrigue.

 

“I’m feeling ok, maybe still a little bit dazed,” Shuichi decides to air on the side of caution should these two be hiding some kind of ulterior motive “and I suppose my legs do feel a little heavy.” Both women scribble something onto their respective clipboards at his response.

 

“Well don’t worry Mr. Saihara, your two friends felt almost the same when they woke up but I can guarantee you the feeling should go away within the next couple of hours. There doesn't seem to be any issues with your vital levels so your physical recovery should progress quite smoothly.” As the older woman assures him of his own health Shuichi can’t help but sigh in relief when he learns that Maki and Himiko are unharmed. “However since you’ve only _just_ woken up you won’t be able to leave your room immediately, I apologize but it’s a standard procedure, and if you want to move about in this space or use the bathroom you must be assisted by a nurse, just until you feel you can safely walk on your own. Is this all alright with you Mr. Saihara?”

 

“Um that’s fine, but you can just call me ‘Shuichi’ to make things easier.” His response elicits a pair of giggles from the two women, probably tickled at how polite Shuichi was being. Though he knows they aren’t doing it to mock him, Shuichi still can’t stop himself from blushing in embarrassment like a little kid.  

 

The bluenette smiles as she adjusts her glasses, trying to hide a still-lingering giggle “Very well _Shuichi_ , my name is Dr. Mizuno, I’m one of doctors assigned to this wing” she then gestures to the woman beside her “and this Muja, she’ll be your designated nurse so please don’t hesitate to ask her or myself for any help!”

 

Muja smiles brightly as she does a small bow in his direction, hugging the clipboard to her chest as she does so “It’s very nice to meet you Shuichi!”

 

“Yeah…it’s nice to meet both of you as well.” His voice sounds calm, but there is still a bit of lingering doubt that holds the ‘detective’ from being entirely trusting of the two women. Shuichi wants to ask as much as he can without coming off as too suspicious, so he opts for a line of questioning involving Himiko and Maki. “Umm, how long have Maki and Himiko been awake? You mentioned them having similar symptoms to me when they woke up, so was I asleep longer than them?” Neither Dr. Mizuno nor Muja’s expressions seem to falter so he assumes this wasn’t a question that was too confidential.

 

Rather, Muja appeared to be eager to answer his question “Oh you’re very observant Shuichi! Yes, both of the girls woke up around 6 this morning but you slept for about an extra two hours. Right now it’s around 8:30 in the morning in case you were curious.” She answers with an airy voice and a soft smile. Muja walks over to the window to grab the chair, being mindful to set Shuichi’s belongings down carefully, and sets the chair down next to the one by the boy’s bed.  

 

Both women take a seat with Dr. Mizuno taking the chair closer to Shuichi as she looks at the boy with a bit of concern on her face. Muja remains relatively cheery, but her eyes have a subtle hint of worry in them. The doctor removes her glasses and places them on the end table next to Shuichi’s bed before focusing on the boy. “Now Shuichi, I’m sure you must have many questions about your current situation and I just want to let you know that I’m more than willing to explain to you what’s going.” Dr. Mizuno lays her hand on Shuichi’s, the boy taken a bit by surprise but he seems to understand that she’s doing this out of comfort. “But I just need you to know that what I’m about to tell you will be _a lot_ of information to take in so I’ll understand if you don’t believe any of what I’m about to tell you. I just need you to promise me that you’ll remain calm while I inform you of everything, and if you still have any questions or doubts me or Muja will gladly answer whatever it is you ask. Ok Shuichi?” Shuichi once again can sense nothing but warmth and compassion from this woman, but does that necessarily make her trustworthy?

 

“Yes Dr. Mizuno…I’ll…I’ll promise to hear you two out.” If he wants to reach the truth he has to have _all_ the information out in the open.

 

Dr. Mizuno and Muja collectively sigh in relief “Thank you Shuichi,” the doctor responds “for a moment there I thought you’d send death threats my way like Ms. Harukawa.” At this comment Shuichi can’t help but awkwardly chuckle to himself; that _did_ seem like something the “Ultimate Assassin” would say to a total stranger if she had her suspicions. “Well first off I think you deserve to know where you are: you, Ms. Harukawa, and Ms. Yumeno are currently being cared for at the Serenity Peak Hospital Center. However,” Dr. Mizuno’s face suddenly suggests that she is anxious to reveal whatever the next bit of information is “you are in a wing of the building that is…specifically designated for the…’participants’ of _Danganronpa_ seasons.” Even Muja seems to be saddened as this revelation is made apparent to Shuichi.

 

Shuichi’s face pales when that dreaded name gets mentioned, now regretting that he fell for whatever act these two lackeys of Team Danganronpa managed to pull on him. He spots Muja hanging her head low, as if she was accepting some kind of shame. “Shuichi…you have every right to doubt us,” it was almost like she read his thoughts “but you should know that _none_ of us employed at Serenity Peak work with Team Danganronpa and we would never _want_ to work for them!” Her last statement carries more gusto in it, a drastic contrast to Muja’s normally soft-spoken tone.

          

“Muja is absolutely right!” the doctor responds, a stern look overshadowing her usually calm demeanor. “Team Danganronpa may have ‘donated’ this wing to the hospital, but we don’t care about their money or what they stand for, all this hospital’s staff cares for is the safety and recovery of you and your friends Shuichi! We could _never_ forgive a company that broadcasts and profits from the trauma and torment of innocent teenagers!” Almost on the verge of tears Dr. Mizuno takes a moment to regain her composure while Muja rubs her back as a means of comfort. She looks back at the nurse with a smile and thanks her with a grateful nod “Shuichi…all of us at Serenity Peak commend you and your friends for what you did to officially put an end to the killing games; we’ve always been powerless to put a stop to it on the outside, but you solved that by destroying it from the inside. Now no more innocent people will be forced to participate in something so cruel. Thank you…”

 

Shuichi is at a loss for words. Just moments ago he was thinking these two to be lapdogs coming to check on the inconvenience of their precious company then toss him out onto the streets without a second thought. But not only was his initial thought of them wrong, these people were actually _thanking_ him for being able to put a stop to _Danganronpa_ for good! “I…I don’t know what to say. I’m sorry for thinking you were just some minions from that company, but I’m glad to know that there are actually people in this world who aren’t obsessed with _Danganronpa_ like I apparently was, and that are glad it’s finally over.”

 

“Ah! That’s actually the next topic we need to cover with you Shuichi!” Muja exclaims.

 

“The next topic? You mean there is still more you need to tell me?”

 

“Yes Shuichi.” Dr. Mizuno replies “Firstly, those ‘audition tapes’ that were shown to you in the final class trial were all nothing but fabrications made by Ms. Shirogane and Team Danganronpa; none of you ever **chose** to participate in this killing game, you all were **forced** to.”  The total disgust in the doctor’s voice combined with Muja’s look of utter displeasure could only mean these two were equally disapproving at just how low those behind the killing game would stoop to make them try and feel despair. 

 

To say Shuichi was shocked when he heard this would be putting it mildly; this newfound information left him completely speechless. _“We never auditioned? Then that means…”_ a small part of him is relieved to know that he really _wasn’t_ that crazed fanboy he saw in the video, but there is a greater feeling of rage boiling deep within him.

 

Rage toward those people who had the audacity to make him believe he actually praised and obsessed over their beloved franchise. There’s animosity to those who tampered with his friends’ memories and forced them all to participate in a fictional hell. And an unshakeable hatred for the psychos who aired his and everyone else’s torment for a disgusting profit. Shuichi’s eyebrows furrow as he winces in anger, tightly gripping onto the bed sheet _“Damn you Tsumugi Shirogane…Why…Why did you do this to us?!?”_

“SHUICHI!”

 

When his eyes snap open Shuichi is met by the concerned faces of Muja and Dr. Mizuno. He still feels the doctor’s grasp on his hand, its grip a bit tighter than before. “Shuichi, look at me. Breathe in…” The doctor keeps a calming tone as she demonstrates said instruction “Breathe out…and in…and out.” she repeats the words and actions like a mantra until Shuichi copies the chant and synchronizes with it at a steady pace.

 

“In…and out…and in…” Shuichi continues to pace himself and he can’t help but commend Dr. Mizuno and Muja for their work; he hadn’t even manifested his negativity verbally yet they instantly knew how to respond to prevent that from happening. It really shows just how committed the two women, and perhaps the whole hospital staff, were to keeping their patient’s mental well-being stable. “And out…and in…” Shuichi looks up them apologetically, warm smiles instantly growing on the women’s faces “I-I’m really sorry about tha-“

     

“Shuichi you have nothing to be sorry about, your reaction was very understandable.” Muja reaches over and joins Dr. Mizuno’s hand on top of Shuichi’s, before retracting after realizing how cramped that space would be, nervously giggling as the hand returns to her lap. Shuichi however appreciates the sentiment behind the gesture.

 

“That’s right,” the Dr. Mizuno adds “and while there is still quite a bit more info we have to share with you Shuichi, we completely understand if want us to withhold it and maybe come back tomorrow. It’s completely up to you.” She sounds so much like a mother trying to ease her child into doing something scary that Shuichi can’t help but wonder how many times the doctor has had to do this.

 

“Thank you both for being so concerned, but I should be alright; it’d be better for me if I learned it all now anyway.” Truth be told he was still quite tense about the potential bombshells that could be dropped on him in this conversation, but Shuichi knew that in order to learn the whole truth surrounding the situation Team Danganronpa put him and the others through he had to stay strong no matter what curveballs were thrown his way. Whatever the facts may be, they absolutely _had_ to be heard.

 

“Very well then Shuichi,” the doctor releases her grip on his hand to instead focus attention on the documents attached to her clipboard “let’s return to the topic of your forced participation in this recent killing game. While it is true that people would audition to partake in each season that was only back when Team Danganronpa first came up with a reality television format for the _Danganronpa_ franchise, but as it steadily gained popularity they changed their approach and began kidnapping high school students for each new season in order for the show to ‘be more authentic’, as they phrased it.” Dr. Mizuno’s clear distaste for the company shows when she recalls the team’s justification for subjecting innocent teenagers to life-scaring trauma for entertainment. “Regarding your memories much of it is as Ms. Shirogane said in the final trial, that all of you were given your personalities, backgrounds, etc. from the use of the initial Flashback Light. However, there is a bit of a silver lining…” Shuichi’s ears seem to perk up at the slightest chance of good news “aside from your Ultimate titles, which were entirely fictional, most of you didn’t have your personalities or backgrounds changed too drastically, only slightly altered to better align with what was written for the story you all followed. For example, Shuichi what can you tell me about your immediate family?”

 

Though he guesses Dr. Mizuno to already know his answer, Shuichi decides to respond to see where exactly this line of questioning leads to “Well, my parents work in the entertainment industry as an actor and screenwriter so I live with my uncle and aunt while my parents work overseas. My uncle works as detective and I would sometimes help him at the agency he works at.” To Shuichi this all _sounded_ correct, but how much of his own memory could he even trust given that almost all of it was _implanted_ into him?

 

Was he actually close with his mother and father? Was his possible uncle even a detective? Did he even have a family? All he can do is let out a sigh, upset in not knowing what about his life could be true “At least…that’s what I _remember_ anyway…”

 

“Believe it or not Shuichi, that part of your past is actually true!” Muja was all too excited to share this bit of information judging by the serene smile on her face as she told Shuichi “The only thing that was different was that despite assisting at the agency you didn’t help solve a murder case. You helped your uncle with paperwork and such while simultaneously doing smaller, low-profile cases. Although it _does_ seem like want to pursue serious detective work like your uncle in the future!”

 

Even in learning that his past (for the most part) doesn’t seem too drastically fabricated, Shuichi finds it a bit odd how both women could know about this. “Don’t take this the wrong way, I’m…really happy knowing that what I remember happens to be true, but how do you two know this much about me?”

 

The doctor adjusts her glasses at the question as if to signal that she would be the one to respond “Well it took a lot of fighting, but we got it through Team Danganronpa’s stubborn heads that in order for us to _help_ survivors of the killing games recover from the psychological trauma they experience we needed to be provided with their background information. You see after you escape from the killing game over time you’ll slowly start to remember your old memories while simultaneously retaining the memories you were given in the killing game. The two sets of memories can eventually coexist in your brain after some time and in most cases this doesn’t cause too many problems, but in the event that someone’s memories or personality from the Flashback Lights are drastically different from how they are in reality it could cause serious damage to their psyche. Having a record of the patient’s past makes the process of helping recover their memories a bit easier on both them and their physician.”

 

Shuichi brings his hand over his mouth as a thought crosses his mind; if he understood Dr. Mizuno correctly then as time went on his past memories would gradually come back to him without erasing how he was in the killing game. He feels guilty to admit to himself that he’s glad Tsumugi spared him from having a drastic change in his personality, though he still doubts he’ll ever be able to forgive the deceased cosplayer for the other horrible things she did. “Shuichi?” the nurse’s gentle voice catches his attention “I’m not sure if this would make you feel better…but your group only had a select few whose memories in the game were drastically different from the information we were provided on them…” Muja absentmindedly twirls a strand of her pink hair into her fingers, likely to be a nervous tick of hers but the direct cause is unknown to Shuichi.

 

Though it is somewhat of a relief to know most of the others didn’t have their personalities altered too much (assuring himself that Kaede and Kaito were part of that group), he doesn’t see the point in him knowing this information.

 

After all…the others were all gone…they couldn’t return to their old lives…only Shuichi, Maki, and Himiko have that privilege now. Still, Shuichi appreciates the nurse reassuring him that the friends he lost in the killing game weren’t terrible people in reality. He supposes that asking who among the other twelve students were subjected to the most rewrites in their memories could grant him some more insight as to who they really were. “Would you…mind telling me who these people were? I-If you’re allowed to that is…”

 

Muja gives a look to her supervisor, innocently batting her puppy dog eyes as if asking permission to let Shuichi know this likely confidential information. The doctor initially keeps a straight face, but a sigh of defeat is all Muja has to hear to understand that was able to best Dr. Mizuno “Very well Muja you win haha,” her small smile does little to hide that she wasn’t planning to withhold the information from Shuichi if he had asked “but try not to resort to using that tactic too often, you’re a professional after all.” Seeing Dr. Mizuno’s teasing smirk the nurse laughs awkwardly while she twiddles her thumbs, clearly embarrassed that her superior called her out on her little “skill”.    

 

“U-Um anyways back to your question Shuichi!” Muja stammers out “From what records we have about the sixteen of you and what we observed during the broadcasts it seems that five from your group had _quite_ the fabricated past while two of these five also had changes applied to their personality. Those who had a…umm ‘backstory’ that greatly differed from their true pasts were Ms. Harukawa, Mr. Shinguji, Mr. Hoshi, and Mr. Idabashi. Mr. Shinguji was also one of the students with the more…. _drastic_ changes to his personality.” She looks down at the floor, a mix of sadness and frustration in her voice. She is very aware that the real Korekiyo shouldn’t be held responsible for the actions of the Korekiyo created by Team Danganronpa.

 

A pang of guilt tugs at Shuichi’s chest once he hears that Kiyo was essentially made into an entirely different person. Thinking about the repercussions the false anthropologist’s family will have to face makes Shuichi regain the sympathy he lost for Korekiyo when the man revealed his motive and unhinged personality. People will give Kiyo’s sister (if she’s even real) dirty looks as she passes by on the street, secretly wondering if there was any truth between the supposed affair between her and Kiyo. Neighbors will judge the parents of ‘that sick boy who killed two innocent girls for the sake of sin’. Team Danganronpa has basically screwed the Shinguji family into a life of everlasting shame. Not only that but-

 

Wait.

 

There was something _odd_ in Muja’s statement just now; it was something so small he didn’t notice it initially, but recalling it now there has to be a reason for _that_ detail to exist.

 

“Mr.… _Idabashi_? But the only person that name could possibly refer to is-”

 

“Keebo Idabashi, your friend who was made into the ‘Ultimate Robot’ in this most recent killing game.” Dr. Mizuno finishes Shuichi’s train of thought for him. “However, in reality he is the human son of robotics engineers. Team Danganronpa thought that with Mr. Idabashi’s parents being robotics engineers assigning him the talent of “Ultimate Robot” would be very ‘suiting’ for him. If you ask me I’d say this was more ‘mocking’ than ‘suiting’ for that poor boy.” Yet another reason for Shuichi and the two medical specialists to hate Team Danganronpa on top of the growing list of grievances the company has already accumulated. These bastards made a _human_ being believe he was a _robot_ his entire life, and to add insult to injury they made him a walking camera whose actions were dictated by the audience answering surveys!

 

Keebo deserved better than to be treated like a piece of equipment, but Team Danganronpa only saw him as an effective way to implement a cheap gimmick. 

 

His curiosity about Keebo may have been answered, but there was one more thing that the nurse failed to mention, or rather that she _chose_ not to mention it. “Who was the fifth person?” Shuichi asks bluntly.

 

The pink-haired nurse's face lights up in surprise as she gets caught off guard “Huh? W-What do you mean Shuichi?” It worries Shuichi that’s she’s playing dumb when it was Muja _herself_ that revealed five students had undergone the process of having their pasts altered greatly and that two of those five had a change in personality to fit those backgrounds. Yet _one_ person, and likely the _same_ person, was obfuscated from both sets of people.

 

“You said there was a fifth person with a different background, and one more person who had a shift in their personality like Kiyo. Who is this person?” Shuichi tries his best to make Muja feel like she isn’t being interrogated, but with the small beads of sweat forming on the woman’s forehead he can’t help thinking she’s actually nervous to share this bit of info. Dr. Mizuno on the other hand is keeping a straight face, but tracks Muja and Shuichi’s exchange with utter focus.

 

Is there a reason for Muja to hide who this person is? Shuichi wants to believe there is no longer a reason to doubt her or Dr. Mizuno given their stance on _Danganronpa_ , but why would she now try to withhold information that she clearly stated was existent. Could the nurse be concerned with how Shuichi will respond if she lets the name slip?

 

If that _is_ the case then who is it? Whose past could be so different that it’d be like dropping a bombshell on Shuichi?

 

 

Was Gonta actually a delinquent who bullies those weaker than him?

 

 

Or could Kokichi be a shy introvert who believes in telling the truth above everything else?

 

……

 

………

 

……

 

……….

 

…Or was it that Kaede wasn’t the kind-hearted ray of sunshine she appeared to be in the killing game?

 

“Muja,” the doctor speaks, gaining the attention of the two inhabitants in the room “you can go ahead and tell him, it seems like he might be stressing over who it might be.” She turns to the boy in question, a serious look in her eye “Shuichi, I may sound like a broken record at this point but I can assure you we’ll clear up the confusion this answer will cause. Just know that this last bit of information we’ll provide may be a hard pill to swallow, well at least _initially_ ; Ms. Yumeno and Ms. Harukawa certainly had a hard time accepting this truth so we imagine you’ll react similarly.”     

 

Rather than answer vocally Shuichi chooses to nod at the doctor’s statement. “The other person who had a significant change to their personality…was Ms. Tsumugi Shirogane…”

 

 

 

Silence.

 

 

 

The pace of the heart monitor’s beeps spikes up ever so slightly. 

 

 

“W-What?? You’re joking right?! Tsumugi was the one who forced me and my friends to kill each other!!” Out of habit Shuichi points an accusatory finger toward the doctor, who jolts slightly but quickly steadies herself in her seat. “And yet you’re telling me that she altered her _own_ memories for some reason?!”

 

From behind Dr. Mizuno he spots Muja slowly raising her finger in the air “Um…If I may?” the woman appears to be trying to clear up some misinformation “To answer your question Shuichi: yes and no. However, do keep in mind that we are not trying to justify Ms. Shirogane’s actions by sharing this information with you.”

 

Shuichi could barely think straight. No matter how you look at it Tsumugi _chose_ to be the Mastermind of the game, she covered up her crime that initiated the killing game, she’s the reason Kaede was executed, and she is the one who enjoyed watching him question his very existence.

 

No matter what information the women tell him of Tsumugi’s ‘past’, he will _never_ let it be an excuse to forgive her actions in the killing game. 

 

Dr. Mizuno flips through some files on her clipboard before finding the one she is searching for, which is likely to be Tsumugi’s, light blue irises quickly skim the page before meeting Shuichi’s gaze. “In the game Ms. Shirogane made it seem like she was a very important figure in Team Danganronpa, however that was only because the memories given to Ms. Shirogane made her believe this to be fact. Her true standing in Team DR was nothing more than an interning high school student who was coaxed into creating the newest season. Apparently their ratings for  past seasons had been lower than they would have liked, but someone within the production company discovered Ms. Shirogane liked to draw costume designs and wrote stories of her own during her free time so they-“

 

“-Found an easy way to make a new season. If she succeeded they could take all the credit, but if she failed they could place all the blame on her, a win-win scenario.” Shuichi concluded, seemingly being able to sense where this story was heading.

 

“Correct,” the doctor verified “and that was just the beginning. Mrs. Shirogane was tasked with designing the characters and writing their backgrounds and personalities while the actual writing staff worked on the story that revolved around them. Once she created the costumes and rough backgrounds for the Ultimates of this season, she left their names and physical appearances blank so when she found ‘those who fit the part’ she could make changes as she saw fit. As for how you and your friends fit into all of this, well remember how earlier I stated that Team Danganronpa kidnaps contestants for more ‘realism’?” Shuichi nods in response, disgusted with how the company did not see their actions as inhumane “Well normally they would abduct those that _looked_ the part of a character they had planned for their season and then implant the false background without a second thought. Ms. Shirogane took a different approach; she would personally look around for potential candidates for her characters and if she found someone who intrigued her she would, for lack of a better term, stalk them to learn more about that person’s life. Should it match up in some sort of way to what she planned for a character then she would only make minor tweaks to the backstory to make the character feel more natural.”

 

“But unbeknownst to her the writing staff had decided to take a few ‘liberties’ with some of her characters, namely Mr. Idabashi, Mr. Shinguji, and Ms. Shirogane herself, so they could have a writing credit for those in the killing game. I believe Ms. Shirogane originally intended for Mr. Idabashi to be the ‘Ultimate Analyst’ or the ‘Ultimate Scientist’, forgive me if I don’t quite remember, but since Team Danganronpa knew of his background they rewrote him to be the ‘Ultimate Robot’ with the added purpose of serving as the audience surrogate and camera. As for Mr. Shinguji the writers gave him a serial killer backstory along with the umm…’relationship’ he had with his sister in order to get an easy reaction out of their audience. In the process they created an unlikeable, unredeemable character within the span of a few minutes. In her notes Ms. Shirogane had still written him as an eccentric person with a strange fascination for beauty, but those additional ‘changes’ added to Mr. Shinguji’s character were made without her knowledge. As for what was done to Ms. Shirogane herself…” Dr. Mizuno sighs deeply, her expression coming off as sympathetic “She was made to believe that she’d be an ordinary participant and that the role of Mastermind would be selected by the staff. But this was just a trick in order to implant the crazed personality that she hid a majority of the game; this same personality led her to believe that she was a far bigger figure in the production then she actually was, but I believe Team Danganronpa did this on purpose. Do you know why Shuichi?”

 

Being told that Tsumugi wasn’t entirely at fault is still _very_ hard to believe, Shuichi still doubts he could ever forgive all the suffering she caused, but was there an actual reason her actions were manipulated in such a way? “Could it be a part of their fail-safe plan? If they have Tsumugi saying how she was the one pulling a lot of the strings for this season, naturally that will cause her to be held responsible for whatever transpired in this past killing game in the eyes of the higher ups. If everything failed and the audience was dissatisfied she’d be the scapegoat and be blamed for _volunteering_ to be the mastermind, but if all went well the team could just gloat about it being _their_ choice of making her the mastermind.”

 

Judging by Muja’s dejected look and the seriousness in Dr. Mizuno’s eyes Shuichi gathers that his conclusion was right on the money. Still, his conscience doesn’t see a reason to forgive and forget the former cosplayer’s actions even if they were not intentionally her own. After all, she was _willing_ working for Team Danganronpa before participating in the 53 rd Killing Game…how can Shuichi possibly forgive someone who worked for a company who profited from inflicting pain on others for entertainment, even if they were supposedly a “good person” beforehand.    

 

“It’s honestly very sad to think about.” Muja interjects “When she was given a tour of the facility the genuine excitement she felt at being given an ‘amazing opportunity to develop’ her talents broke our hearts, it wasn’t like the deranged exhilaration she showed during your final class trial. We couldn’t tell her to be cautious of her choices; all we could do was fake a smile and nod whenever she visited to inform us of the newest person she found to portray one of her characters or how she was changing the little details of someone’s character.” Muja squeezes her wrist while a single tear falls down her cheek, seemingly blaming herself for being powerless to stop the downward spiral Tsumugi went through.  

 

Something the nurse says immediately catches Shuichi’s attention _“She was given a tour? And_ whenever _she visited_? _”_ he questions. What exactly could Tsumugi gain by checking out the hospital? It didn’t seem like there was much to the facility itself, and yet Muja makes it sound like the girl had made several trips here for some reason.

 

“Muja, I hope you don’t mind me asking, but why did Tsumugi make more than one visit to this hospital? And what could she even be able to see in a ‘tour’ of this place?”

 

She appears to be taken by surprise at the sudden question, but as Muja prepares her answer she feels the doctor’s gentle hand on her shoulder “It’s quite alright Muja, I’ll take it from here.” The pink-haired woman nods hesitantly in compliance. “To answer your question Shuichi, Ms. Shirogane was first given a tour in order to get familiar with the building’s layout. Each subsequent appointment for her was to check that the systems used for operating the killing games were running functionally and that you all were in a stable condition before being brought into the game.”

 

“However once the game commenced there was a small ‘error’ that occurred when your group was placed into the academy, which wasn’t shown to audiences but those of us tasked with your care had witnessed the un-edited footage, and you all entered the game without any of the false memories implanted in your minds yet. You likely don’t remember this because that very first light gave you all your false memories while overriding your real ones, therefore triggering the ‘start’ of the killing game.”

 

He was following the doctor’s story to a degree but there were some key words Dr. Mizuno dropped that made him do a doubletake in his head. The words ‘systems’ and ‘error’ caught his interest in particular. 

 

Additionally, the way the doctor phrased that they were ‘placed into the academy’ and how Shuichi’s group ‘entered the game’ made it sound like the staff physically _saw_ them enter the Ultimate Academy.  But that couldn’t be possible right? The Ultimate Academy was in an entirely separate location, at least that’s what made the most sense.

 

So what could this all mean exactly? What was the doctor trying to tell hi-

 

“Shuichi…we don’t tell you this information initially due to it running the risk of having your already fragile psyche from the distress of a killing game becoming damaged further. The nurses and doctors here do their best to keep their patients calm and collected before we…reveal the _truth_ of their situation…” the caution in her voice made it seem like the doctor was walking on eggshells, taking her time to slowly bring Shuichi closer to the truth while trying not to cause a stir. Dr. Mizuno takes a deep breath, scooting her chair closer to Shuichi. “The events that you and your friends went through all took place within a domain heavily inspired by the **Neo World Program** ; in other words, you all were transported into a _virtual reality_ program to carry out the killing game.”

 

He swears that everything around him comes to a stop as soon as those words escape the doctor’s mouth. He feels his own heart stop beating for a moment and his eyes widen in shock.

 

_Virtual Reality…but then that would mean…_

 

…..

 

……..

 

….

 

A weak laugh escapes Shuichi’s mouth beyond his control, he must look insane “Ha…y-you can’t be serious…right? I…I _saw_ them all die!” he shouts out, not in anger but in grief. But why would he be _denying_ such an outcome could exist, shouldn’t he be happy if it’s true?

 

But that’s exactly the reason why Shuichi shouldn’t get his hopes up, the big possibility of **if**  it’s true. Before he can even stop himself tears begin to well in his eyes “E-Everyone is g-gone. Kaede…Gonta…K-Kaito…They’re all gone and I’ll never see them again! So _please_ don’t suggest to me that they could still be-” a familiar hand reaches out and gently places itself on top of his own once again.

 

Rather than look worried that her patient is on the brink of a panic attack Dr. Mizuno is demonstrating a look of calm and collectiveness. She stares back at Shuichi with nothing but compassion, and when he glances at Muja the nurse’s eyes are practically pleading for Shuichi to listen to what the doctor has to say. “They are all still alive Shuichi…we would never want to lie to you about something like this.”

 

“T-They a-are? B-But h-how is that p-possible?” Actually hearing those words aloud crushed his reality. Everyone was still alive…he could…he could see his friends again. Tears continue to blur his vision as these complex emotions flood his thoughts, prompting Dr. Mizuno to continue speaking.

 

“When Team Danganronpa wanted to bring _Danganronpa_ into the world of reality television, they knew that they couldn’t legally allow teenagers to kill one another on live television. Taking inspiration from one of the video games, they hired the best engineers and programmers in order to replicate the Neo World Program and after a couple years managed to make it fully operational. They emphasized that those who die within the program would re-awaken after a few days with no physical harm done to their bodies. But in justifying the morality of their productions by claiming no _real_ harm comes to the participants due to virtual reality aspect of it all, they are essentially admitting to ignoring the very _real_ psychological trauma you all bare once you wake up from the killing game.” Though he knows she doesn’t mean to, he feels the doctor’s grip tighten on his hand when she recalls how little those involved with Team Danganronpa care about the psychological scarring their victims carry once they are out of the simulation. He briefly wonders if perhaps Tsumugi thought the same way as the company, but reminds himself that she most likely did if she jumped at the chance to have input in a season.    

 

Once he lets his tears subside, Shuichi looks up at the two women with a gracious smile “Dr. Mizuno, Nurse Muja…thank you so much for telling me all of this. I…had already accepted everything that happened in the… _simulation,_ ” that was still going to take some getting used to saying “but you both wanted me to know the _truth_ even at the risk that I wouldn’t believe a word you said. Yet you both were patient with me did not hesitate in providing me the answers you felt I needed to hear. And knowing that all of my friends are really alive I just-I can’t put it into words…All I can really say is…thank you.” Now it was his turn to warm their hearts with a smile.

  

The pink-haired woman has to try her hardest to keep herself from bawling her eyes out at how sweet the boy was being “Shuichi, we promise to do our best to help you and your friends recover from this terrible trauma. Fortunately while you all are residing at Serenity Peak we can provide you with individual or, once your remaining friends wake up, group therapy in order to get the recovery process started. It may take some time, but we’ll do whatever we can to make this easier for you all to move forward.”

 

His remaining friends? Did that imply some of the others have yet to wake up after their deaths in the virtual world? Who could they possibly be? It seems that Dr. Mizuno picks up on what he’s thinking and shoots Shuichi an apologetic look “I know you must be wondering who’s yet to wake up, but unfortunately that’s one of the few bits of information we are strictly told to keep confidential. I’m sorry.” Although he is a bit saddened at this policy he understands that he doesn’t want to risk the doctor or Muja to lose their jobs over this. 

 

A set of giggles from Muja catches both his and Dr. Mizuno’s attention “Well, while _we_ can’t tell you Shuichi there aren’t any rules saying your _friends_ can’t tell you!” she playfully winks at the boy and receives a stern look from her supervisor in the process. Fearing that she’s about to get scolded the pink-haired nurse abruptly stands up and nervously rushes to Shuichi’s bedside to nervously fluff his pillow “A-Anyway Shuichi I think it’s fair to say you deserve some rest haha!” The doctor rolls her eyes at Muja’s ridiculousness but can’t refrain from chuckling to herself “I’ll be back in a few hours to bring you some breakfast, ok? And if you like we can try to see if you’re ready to walk around yet!”

 

By now he’s gotten pretty familiar with her antics so he can’t help but laugh at how goofy his nurse is “Thank you very much Nurse Muja, I look forward to it!” She bows at his statement at begins to walk toward the door, Dr. Mizuno begins to stand from her seat as well.

 

Reaching her hand out one last time the doctor gently rubs Shuichi’s head, one final gesture to try and soothe him after all the information he took in today “Pleasant dreams Shuichi.” She walks over to Muja, motioning for her to shut off the lights as they exit the room.

 

Looking up at the ceiling a deep breath escapes his lips. He certainly didn’t expect any of what transpired within the past hour, he’s still a little unsure of how to process it all. One thing is for certain though: he won’t have to go through all of this alone. Not to say he’d being going through it alone if it was _just_ him, Maki, and Himiko that survived; the three of them not only have access to a legitimately caring staff, but they’ll have their twelve fellow survivors with them too.

 

With this in mind Shuichi finally lets his eyes shut peacefully, content with getting some sleep now that he’s managed to reach the truth.

 

* * *

 

After he woke up from his nap, Shuichi attempted to walk for a bit on his own. Emphasis on _attempted_. He only managed to trip over twice, first when he tried walking over to his duffel bag only to greet the floor with his face and then on his way back to his bed after grabbing the bag. Though admittedly walking back to the bed wasn’t as much of a struggle as getting off of it was, all while trying to re-adapt to his basic motor functions. Maybe he’ll be able to walk normally sooner than he thinks?

 

When he opens the zipper he’s relieved to find two sets of what appears to be his original school uniform, complete with a black blazer, white undershirt, and blue-striped tie. There’s also three sets of casual wear, his old hat, one of his favorite mystery novels, a cell phone (presumably his), and a dark blue 3DS XL. Thankfully, there are no Monokuma plushies or Junko Enoshima t-shirts among his belongings.

 

Muja walks into the room, smiling while carrying a tray that held Shuichi’s breakfast: a plate of scrambled eggs with toast, a small bowl of mixed fruit, and a cup of orange juice. She sets the tray down on the nightstand to check Shuichi’s temperature and vitals. Recognizing that her patient is fine, Muja lays the tray down on the bed’s tray table to allow Shuichi to eat.

 

Once he finishes his breakfast Shuichi asks Muja for some assistance walking about in the room. Always eager to help, the nurse steadies herself as she assists in getting the boy out of bed, gripping his hand while linking her free hand around his waist. It’s a little difficult at first, even as Muja makes sure Shuichi paces his steps carefully, but after about six intervals of walking from one end of the room to another the boy opts to one interval alone.

 

With Muja standing off to the side should he need assistance, Shuichi slowly moves his right foot forward followed by his left, followed by his right foot again, and continuing this pattern until he stops about halfway across the room. His legs are still a bit shaky and Shuichi suddenly finds himself crumbling to the floor; Muja immediately begins to make her way towards him but he holds his hand out in front of him, signaling her to wait.

 

Of his own volition Shuichi manages to pull himself off the ground and continue walking to the end of the room. Touching the wall at the end, Shuichi sends a confident smile toward Muja as he begins to walk back and forth at a faster pace, the nurse smiling and cheering him on all the way.

 

Now worn out from all the “exercise” Shuichi asks Muja if he could shower and change out of the hospital gown. The nurse readily grants him permission, saying she’ll stay in the room should he run into any trouble and promises to bring him a set of hospital-issued pajamas later in the day. Shuichi thanks her as enters the bathroom with a clean set of clothes and a fresh towel from one of the cabinets in the room. Feeling the running water until it becomes warm enough, Shuichi strips off the hospital gown then steps into the small shower stall.

 

The scent of the coconut shampoo and vanilla-scented body wash still lingers after he dries himself off. Changing into a dark blue t-shirt and some black jeans, Shuichi steps back into his room only to find Muja sitting on the bed heavily focused on his mystery novel.

 

Muja yelps out after being caught red-handed “EEEEP!” she hastily tries to cover-up her tracks only to clumsily fall off the bed, the book dropping down on her face in the process. The boy quickly rushes over to help her up while the nurse giggles at her sheer clumsiness. Shuichi asks if she’s alright, but Muja reassures him that the fall wasn’t anything too serious. As she dusts off her now dirtied uniform Muja informs Shuichi that he can freely walk around the hospital, but has to be back in his room by 11pm as part of a curfew. Having said her piece she bids Shuichi farewell for the time being and exits the room.

 

Shuichi decides to stay in his room to read a bit of his novel for a while; about thirty minutes and three chapters of the book later, he hears a knock at the door. “Come in!” he yells out. The door opens up and Shuichi instantly knows who the visitor is once green curls of hair peek through the door frame.

 

“Well, well long time no see Shuichi!” a relaxed voice responds back. Rantaro Amami, the owner of the voice comes into the room in what looks like a school uniform.

 

Rantaro was definitely one of the bigger mysterious in the killing game; even now Shuichi didn’t fully have a grasp on the green-haired boy’s character. From the little he interacted with Rantaro during the killing game, the latter seemed to be an easily-approachable person yet he also never told people the whole story. Strangely, he also felt like this boy was the dependable type, like he _wanted_ to protect everyone. But before Shuichi or anyone could get to know Rantaro better, Tsumugi cracked his skull with a shot put ball and framed Kaede so the killing game wouldn’t end prematurely. Come to think of it, Rantaro was supposedly apart of the previous season’s killing game in addition to this most recent one, perhaps now that everything is finally over he can finally learn about the _real_ Rantaro Amami.

 

Shuichi’s thoughtful expression seems to catch Rantaro’s attention when he notices the curious look in those green irises “Huh? Is there something on your mind Shuichi?”

 

“Well I actually wanted to maybe get to know you a little better if you don’t mind. We didn’t really talk too much in the killing game, and since you’ve been out here the longest I imagine you’ve probably regained some of your old memories so I’d like to get to know the sort-of-real you haha.” Shuichi scratches his chin at his awkward choice of words towards the end, but the small chuckle Rantaro gives him reassures him that it wasn’t a sensitive subject.

 

Rantaro casually shrugs his shoulders “I don’t see any problem with that, I was actually on my way to the recreation room but I wanted to check if you’d like to tag along first. They have different games and stuff there to keep you busy, but we can definitely start our little chat on the walk over there.” Once he acknowledges that he’ll join Rantaro, Shuichi bookmarks the current page of the novel and leaves it on the nightstand as he and Rantaro make their way down the hall.

 

Walking past the rooms that presumably belong to the fourteen other participants (and curious as to which of them still comatose) Shuichi decides to ask Rantaro if he remembers anything from his previous killing game; he’s genuinely curious, but he also wants to distract himself from dwelling too long on the status of the others.

 

While he can’t recall everything that happened in the other killing game he was in, Rantaro does know that his old “talent” was the “Ultimate Adventurer” and that a part of his character background was traveling the world in search of his twelve missing sisters. Even he admits that sounded a little too absurd to be true, but it was still interesting none the less. Rantaro also remembered that towards the end it was down to only him, two other players, and the mastermind of that season. Though he can only remember the two survivors’ faces he comments that a part of him recalls them both being close somehow, which is why he chose to be the sacrifice to spare them the pain of losing the other. At the time he wasn’t made aware of the virtual reality aspect, so when he was permitted to leave the message for when his memory was erased again Rantaro made sure that his future self understood the necessity to end the killing game as quickly as possible. Shuichi extends his condolences for what the other boy had to go through; waking up with two different sets of memories while trying to remember the _real_ ones couldn’t have been easy.        

 

Aside from the information about Rantaro’s past season Shuichi also manages to learn a bit about the ex-adventurer’s home life; apparently Rantaro’s family is still pretty wealthy like they were in his fictional history and he’s the oldest of a _reasonable_ amount of siblings: two younger sisters and two younger brothers (and all of them _full_ siblings). He also admits that because of his appearance and laid-back personality most people think he “gets around” when in reality he’s only had one girlfriend prior to being abducted for his first killing game. Because he’s only just woken up Shuichi can’t recall if he’s been on the receiving end of gossip in his real life, the false memories of Hope’s Peak Academy made it appear that he at least had a small group of close friends…he hopes that’s still the case when he returns to school.

 

The two continue down the hallway discussing this and that until they turn the corner and Rantaro points out the double doors at the end of the hallway “Those doors lead to the rec room, its open 24/7 and we’re allowed to bring any visitors in with us. The staff also said we can bring in food from the cafeteria downstairs as long as we are mindful to clean up our mess afterwards.” He reaches up to scratch the back of his head as he lets out an awkward laugh “Though the past couple of times we’ve brought food in Kirumi has been _insistent_ that we let her clean up the mess, I guess the whole maid thing is like muscle memory for her! Just don’t take advantage of that ok Shuichi?”

 

“H-Hey I would never do that!”

 

Rantaro laughs again though this time it’s intentional “Sorry, couldn’t stop myself from teasin’ you a bit!” he ruffles Shuichi’s hair a bit, a habit from all the years of being a big brother, making the smaller boy look away in embarrassment.

 

Just as the two are approaching the doors of the rec room, one of the doors begins to open up. Though Rantaro keeps walking forward Shuichi stops dead in his tracks when sees the person exiting the room.    

 

His heart skips a beat when he sees familiar blonde hair framing a set of light purple eyes and a welcoming smile.

 

Kaede Akamatsu stands in the door frame, the lighting from the other room giving off a faint glow around her navy blue uniform. Letting the door shut behind her, Kaede slowly approaches the boys but has her eyes focused on Shuichi “It’s been awhile…hasn’t it Shuichi?”

 

Ignoring the tears that having been falling down his cheeks the past minute Shuichi runs to the girl he thought was gone forever, wrapping her in a tight embrace the moment he gets close to her. “K-Kaede, y-you’re-you’re ok!” He hopes she doesn’t scold him for staining her uniform with tears, he’ll apologize later, but right now he just wants to be grateful for being able to hold Kaede Akamatsu again. She’s returning the embrace with the same amount of warmth she’s receiving “I…I missed you…so much.”

 

“I know you did, Shuichi…” she whispers to him as she rubs his back “I missed you too…”

 

_“She’s here…she’s real…she’s_ alive. _”_   That’s all Shuichi can repeat to himself in the silence surrounding their embrace.

 

Kaede is the first one to separate from the hug, but she rubs Shuichi’s shoulder for good measure as she steps away to let him dry his tears. “So, I’m actually on my way downstairs to grab some food from the cafeteria and head back up here, do you guys want to join me? After all Shuichi, we have _a lot_ to catch up on and don’t think you can try to skimp out on all the details! I know I’m not going to!”

 

Shuichi feels an arm wrap around his shoulder, he actually forgot for a second that Rantaro was still in the hallway with them “We’ll take you up on the offer Kaede! And I’m sure everyone’s going to be excited to see Shuichi again now that he’s awake; we may want to a good amount of food though, if _everyone_ wants to catch up he’ll be stuck there for a while haha!”

 

When he sees Kaede strike her signature pose of confidence Shuichi can’t help but smile “That’s the spirit Rantaro!” She hastily grabs the boys by their wrists and dashes down the hallway, unaware of how they tripped over themselves due to the lack of a warning “Come on if we don’t hurry we’ll be stuck in a long line!” . Kaede drags them toward the current floor’s elevator, which thankfully comes seconds after pushing the “down” button, and quickly shoves the boys in.

 

Even if it was far from being a graceful reunion, Shuichi is just happy to see that Kaede is the still the same as he remembered her. And he’s going to appreciate whatever time they have together in the hospital.

 

It’s time to make up for the times they could have had together, the times that were robbed from them by that horrific killing game.    

 

* * *

 

As the trio steps out of the elevator Shuichi spots the flashing of cameras and the shouting of reporters outside the pair of double doors leading into the hospital lobby. Shuichi notices the look of irritation Kaede and Rantaro’s faces share as they stroll through the lobby, clearly this isn’t the first time the media has tried to storm the hospital. Given the small barricade separating the reporters and the line of police officers acting as security to prevent them from entering the facility, which Shuichi imagines to be the work of the staff or directors of Serenity Peak, he comes to appreciate that the hospital is doing its best to prevent the media and the _Danganronpa_ fandom from adding extra stress on group while they are still in the middle of the recovery period. Not to mention the inconvenience it’d be on the _regular_ patients that are being treated in the hospital.  

 

Rantaro sighs deeply “Well I can’t say I didn’t see this happening, with how it all ended it doesn’t surprise me that the tabloids are trying hard to get a story out of this…”

 

“But this is getting ridiculous!” Kaede puffs out her cheeks as her arms cross her chest “They were persistent enough with their ‘visits’ here while the show was still airing, but now they’re trying to bombard us just _hours_ after the killing game ended! How badly do they want a story that they are willing to just ignore the trauma of what we all went through just for the sake of some stupid ratings?!”

 

Before Shuichi can agree with either of his companions, his attention is caught by the sound of the lobby doors opening. Kaede and Rantaro stop in their tracks, readying themselves to shoo back any paparazzi who try to overwhelm them. However, Shuichi spots an officer escorting two people into the lobby, a tall man in his mid-thirties and a shorter person who is being hidden by what Shuichi assumes to be the taller man’s large coat. The taller man shakes the officer’s hand and the latter hurries back outside.

 

Shuichi eyes widen when he recognizes the former of the two new visitors.

 

“Uncle Taro?” Shuichi calls out, noticing Rantaro and Kaede lowering their guards upon realizing he knows the man and the three of them make their way towards his uncle.

 

The man pulls Shuichi into a tight hug, absolutely overjoyed at their reunion “Oh Shuichi I’m so glad you’re safe, your aunt and I were so worried about you!” Shuichi firmly returns the hug, happy to finally see any of his family once again. Kaede wipes the faint tear forming in her eye from the touching sight in front of her while Rantaro chuckles when he spots Shuichi’s uncle doing his best to keep his tears from falling.

 

“M-Me too Uncle, I’m s-so glad to see you again!” Shuichi manages to sniffle out, unable to stop the tears from dampening his uncle’s chest, emotions getting the better of him for the third time today. He looks up at his uncle, relieved that he looks every bit the same as Shuichi remembered him. Same silver-grey eyes, same hair that was darker black in comparison to Shuichi’s own black-blue hair, same kind-hearted face the man retained from his teenage years. Without a doubt this was the same Uncle Taro that Shuichi has known his whole life.

 

He spots the person in the coat shifting nervously, snapping him back to reality. Shuichi quickly wipes his tears off onto his sleeve before turning his attention back to his uncle “Uncle Taro what’s going on here exactly, and how did you know where to find me?”

 

“Shortly after all of you were kidnapped, the immediate family of those taking part in this latest killing game were sent letters from Team Danganronpa informing us you had been abducted. They also told us that the location of the Neo World Program facility that transported you all into killing game was in a designated wing of this hospital. However, we were not allowed to visit unless the participant linked to us ‘exited’ the game, so this is my first time being able to physically see you in a few weeks Shuichi.” The look he gives his nephew makes Shuichi’s heart hurt, the man must have hated being prohibited from checking on the well-being of his nephew. All he could do was pray that each new broadcast wouldn’t reveal that his nephew was murdered or worse, was executed for committing murder. “So I drove here as fast as I could and as I was making my way through the parking lot I noticed this young man being swarmed by the paparazzi. Since it was clear that he was being overwhelmed I leant him a hand by shielding him from the crowd of reporters until an officer escorted us to the entrance.”

 

Shuichi’s uncle turns his back to trio, seemingly to discuss something with the mysterious boy under the coat “Are you ok with coming out of my coat young man? If not then feel free to hold onto it for as long as it makes you comfortable!” he chuckles at the boy. The trio does their best at trying to sneak a peek at whatever is happening in front of Shuichi’s uncle, but only see the waving of the man’s coat from side to side. Perhaps the boy complied with the request seeing that the man is now slipping the coat back on.

 

After the man straightens out his coat Shuichi notices him stretch his hand out before placing the hand in his coat pocket. “ _Is he maybe patting that boy on the head?”_ Shuichi recalls this being a common reward from his uncle whenever he did something deserving of praise…and admittedly his uncle _still_ uses this as method to cheer Shuichi up from time to time. Shuichi doesn’t mind this, if anything it has always managed to get him to feel better.

 

When Uncle Taro turns his attention back to Shuichi, Rantaro, and Kaede the trio’s eyes collectively widen as they all gasp out in surprise.

_“W-What is going on here?”_

Shuichi isn’t really sure how to process this but…

 

 

Staring back at him and the others…

 

 

…were the anxious, violet eyes of Kokichi Ouma.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seriously how many times am I going to write Shuichi crying and hugging people lol XD
> 
> Hopefully you guys didn't hate Dr. Exposition (who TOTALLY isn't a reference to Ami Mizuno from Sailor Moon) and her sidekick (who ISN'T a reference to a Yandere Sim character), I know they were around for a big portion of the chapter but I really wanted a character(s) that helped with the world building. Plus I thought it'd be nice to have a hospital staff that weren't employed by Team Danganronpa.
> 
> Next time: the gang has some questions answered, we get to meet some other family members, and we check up on those who are already awake!


	3. Still Alive part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shuichi and co manage to press Kokichi for answers, but finding out one truth only sprouts ten more lies...
> 
> Meanwhile Maki and Himiko each have their own problems to deal with after waking up from the simulation...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey I'm back with another update! Sorry for the nearly two month wait for chapter three, but on top of life being busy for me, sometimes it was just really hard to get the ideas I had written down and make progress with the story...But hopefully you guys weren't too upset by the delay!
> 
> Just fair warning that this chapter will have its fair share of angst so be prepared! 
> 
> Thank you to megastarstrike for being awesome and beta-ing some of the dialogue and plot for me and for giving me advice for some of the plot points in this chapter.
> 
> And thank YOU all so much for helping this fic reach 900 hits and nearly 70 kudos! Makes me like I'm doing a good job at this :')

* * *

 

_So silent, no violence_

_But inside my head so loud and clear_

_You're screaming, you're screaming_

_Covered up with a smile I've learned to fear_

 

* * *

 

 

_Day of Awakening_

 

Maki Harukawa sits by the hospital bed of the reckless guy who had saved her from her own demons. There he was, laying in the bed perfectly still with an IV drip in his wrist, oxygen tube in his nose, and a monitor keeping track of his steady heartbeat.

 

It was still hard accepting the reality that Kaito was still alive…comatose, but _alive_.

 

It was almost as hard as accepting how her past wasn’t nearly as tragic as it was in the…simulation. She never grew up in an orphanage, there was never a secret assassination ring, and she was never trained to be a killing machine. The actual Maki Harukawa was just a normal high school girl with a normal family. Apparently despite her cold demeanor she was very popular among the younger children of her neighborhood and was often hired as a babysitter by their parents; she never particularly _liked_ any of the kids but she didn’t really hate them either, she was just doing her job. This may have been why Tsumugi Shirogane had seen Maki as the perfect candidate for her “Ultimate Assassin/Child Caregiver” character.

 

When that blue-haired doctor told her this Maki wanted nothing more than to hold a knife to the woman’s neck; there was no way this could be true, that woman was just trying to fool her with such an obvious lie. The staff really cared for them? Everyone would just wake up and go home? Tsumugi was just as much a victim as everyone else? As much as Maki wanted to believe _some_ of those things, all of it still sounded too good to be true. Those who came into her room when she woke up after leaving the Ultimate Academy would’ve been dead if she could’ve moved the lower half of her body. Maki had to settle with hurling death threats toward the total strangers who she had a justifiable suspicion of. Even if it was obvious they were trying to hide their fear from her piercing ruby gaze, the doctor and nurse visiting her were still insistent that Maki believe the information they were giving her.   

    

She was only able to wrap her head around the truth when Ryoma, the very person who she indirectly reduced to a pile of bones, walked into her room when the suspicious parties were still doing whatever they could to convince the girl to believe them.

 

“You should trust them,” Ryoma told her as he walked over to the side of her bed, a fake cigarette hanging off his lip “and be a little thankful that your life out here is at least better than what was _implanted_ in your head in the killing game.” She couldn’t bring herself to argue against Ryoma, their situations in the game were identically tragic. Both of them had no living family and had killed people in their fictional past, but Ryoma had killed a group of _criminals_ …she only killed those who had a price tag on their heads, whether they were good or bad. Maki apologized to him for the part she ended up playing in his death only to be met by a scoff as Ryoma fiddled with the fake cigarette between his fingers “Don’t worry about, no point looking back at what happened in the past now that everything’s finally over with.”

 

While she reluctantly listened to the whatever news the doctor had told her, once her three “visitors” left Maki forced herself out of bed to speed up the recovery of her ability to walk. Against the doctor’s wishes to stay in bed to recover and to call a nurse if she needed assistance, Maki willed herself up from the floor she inevitably collapsed onto upon getting off the bed and started to use her environment to regain her stability. Guiding herself along the edge of her bed, Maki placed her arms around the bed’s end table and used it as a means of helping her stand. After remaining like that for about ten minutes she made her way to a wall with wobbles in each of her steps; her legs were practically on fire when she finally managed to lean against the wall, choosing to stay there for another ten minutes. Compared to the false memories she has of being through countless hours of brutal training in being an assassin, regaining her ability to move around freely was a cake walk.

 

After changing into some clothes from her duffel bag she eventually came to find Kaito’s room, but despite being able to once again see the first guy she’s ever developed feelings for, Maki has yet to utter a word the entire time she’s been in his room. It’s hard to imagine that it has only been a handful of hours since seeing Kaito die from an implanted virus in the midst of his execution. She’s chosen to keep herself resigned to his bedside, carefully watching over him like a protective hawk. There is so much she wants to tell Kaito, but believes it’d be a waste of time to tell someone who likely can’t even hear her. More than anything Maki wants her feelings for Kaito to be real, she refuses to believe that _none_ of what she felt was genuine and more than anything just wants Kaito to wake up so she can legitimately put her feelings to the test. A small part of her is afraid that he’ll lose interest in her now knowing she is just an ordinary high school girl who never had to bear the burden of murdering people for money.

 

 _“You better wake up soon you reckless idiot…there is so much I need to tell you…”_ what Maki can’t say out loud, she has no quarrel against saying in her mind. A fracture of a smile appears on her face as she continues to gaze at Kaito’s peaceful form. She slowly reaches out for his hand before freezing up entirely, a small amount of hesitation now visible on her face. Shaking off her worry Maki goes through with her initial motion and clasps the boy’s hand in her own, causing her cheeks to turn a very light shade of pink.

 

The doorknob turns as the blue-haired doctor from earlier makes her way into Kaito’s room, visibly shocked at Maki’s presence “Oh Ms. Harukawa!” she offers the girl a very serene smile “It’s nice to see you out and about! I just came to check up on Mr. Momota’s-“ before the doctor can finish her sentence a pair of scissors gets thrown and lodges itself into the door frame, startling the woman into dropping her clipboards. “OH M-MY!” she stammers as she fumbles to get her belongings, awkwardly laughing as she backs out of the door “U-um I’ll j-just stop by later then ahaha…”

 

With the woman now gone Maki instinctively rolls her eyes at the doctor’s ridiculous antics _“What a nuisance.”_ She turns her attention back to Kaito, not noticing how she had gripped the boy’s hand tighter when the doctor had entered the room.  

 

* * *

 

The boy lying down on the bed in front of Miu had the same white hair, which looks natural instead of metallic, and the same pale skin as the Keebo she had come to know in the killing game. But there was one _big_ difference now - this boy was _human_. Seeing the lightly-toned chest slowly rise and fall, as opposed to a firm chassis that never simulated this gesture would take some getting used to after being around the former robot for so long. Even his eyes looked more human-shaped compared to the rounder shape he was given in the killing game, Miu wonders if they could still be the same shade of bright blue from the simulation. _“God it’s so fuckin weird to see Keebs do somethin’ as basic as_ breathing _now…_ ” Miu reaches out and gently sets her hand on Keebo’s chest, the sturdy metal she remembers feeling with her own hands has now been replaced with soft, very _real_ skin (not that synthetic stuff that made up his face). Keebo could always project _artificial_ warmth if the situation called for it, and yet the warmth coming from his chest now felt so real-so _genuine._

 

“Hey Keebs?” Miu asks the comatose boy softly, not wanting her normally obnoxious mannerisms to prematurely wake Keebo up “Y-You know even if you’re n-not a robot anymore I’d still w-wanna be your friend.” Hell who was she kidding, she wanted to be _way_ more than just _friends_ with Keebo, but she didn’t want to scare the boy off like she had with countless others in her past. Out of everyone in the killing game Keebo was the one she had grown closest with. He was the one who put up with her antics the most compared to everyone else. Even if she knows Keebo can’t see her, Miu can’t stop herself from glancing down at the boy nervously as she fidgets with the strings of her pink hoodie “B-But would _you_ even w-want to still be seen with someone like _me_?”   

 

 _“Of fuckin course he would! What kinda virgin wouldn’t want a piece of-“_ but Miu smothers that line of perversion before she can fully think it; with everyone else she never even thinks about censoring herself, because Miu Iruma does _not_ do “censored”. But to her Keebo’s the one person Miu doesn’t mind toning down the more “quirky” aspects of her personality for, he’s the one she doesn’t want to have slip away from her. And if having to limit how much she swears like a sailor or how often she cracks a pervy joke is what it takes to keep Keebo around then she’ll do whatever it takes to keep him in her life.   

 

Preferring to not dwell on this topic for too long Miu interlocks Keebo’s fingers with hers as she leans over to leave a kiss on the sleeping boy’s cheek. She decides to rest her head by Keebo’s arm, being mindful to not rest directly on his arm and cut off his circulation or accidentally pull out the IV in his wrist. Miu smiles as she lets herself slowly fall asleep while grasping Keebo’s hand “When we get outta here Keebo you and me are goin’ on a date - I think you’ve more than earned it at this point…”   

 

* * *

 

Back at the hospital lobby Shuichi and his group are still trying to process Kokichi’s sudden appearance. Not much time had passed between Kokichi’s murder and the ending of the final class trial, logically speaking Kokichi _shouldn’t_ be awake yet. With how seriously damaged the small boy’s body was it’d make sense if it took a bit of time before he was able to wake up from the simulation. But here he was, standing before Shuichi, Kaede, and Rantaro, all of whom are still a bit too dumbfounded to say anything. Shuichi’s uncle could only look at the group of teenagers with a bit of confusion on his face; clearly he may have been missing some major context in this situation.

 

Shuichi decides to be the first to try and press for answers “Kokichi? What… _How_ are you awake already?” His tone may have come off a bit harsher than he intended judging by the subtle flinch he gets from Kokichi. By no means did Shuichi want his question to sound like he was _upset_ that the boy was awake, far from it actually; if anything he was relieved to see Kokichi up and about since he’d be able to express his gratitude to the boy for his help in ending the killing game.

 

“Y-Yeah Kokichi when were you able to leave the hospital?!?” Kaede thrusts her finger out in the purple-haired boy’s direction to assert her question “None of us were even told you had woken up! How did you sneak past us?” The boy is clearly startled by Kaede’s question as evident by the way his eyes widened once she started questioning him.

 

“W-Well….I….u-um…” Kokichi stammers out as he fidgets with the collar of his black school uniform, small beads of sweat could be seen forming on the boy’s forehead. Shuichi can understand just how uncomfortable the boy is, but at the same time he finds Kokichi’s behavior…odd. According to both Dr. Mizuno and Muja, Kokichi wasn’t one of the few people who had their personalities drastically altered but right now he’s acting nearly the exact opposite of how he normally would. Having noticed that though it still doesn’t seem like this Kokichi is putting on a façade or trying to stall for time by lying, but Shuichi can’t understand _how_ he knows Kokichi isn’t just playing up an act.

 

Kokichi looks down at the floor, shyly twiddling his fingers as he desperately tries to avoid the puzzled stares of his peers in the room “The t-truth is I-“

 

But before Shuichi and the others are given a chance to hear Kokichi out their attention is drawn by the sound of lobby doors opening once again, effectively silencing the boy. They are met with the sight of one of the security officers escorting an elderly couple that appear to be in their seventies, judging by their collective panting the two of them must have tried to move as quickly through the crowd of people outside as possible. The elderly man shakes the officer’s hand as a sign of gratitude while the elderly woman bows in the officer’s direction. For some reason Shuichi can’t shake the feeling that he’s seen these people before, but can’t remember where. The woman appears to have spotted his group and begins to walk over, appearing a bit concerned as she inches closer to them before speaking “Oh there you are deary!”

 

Kaede leans in closer to Shuichi and Rantaro, trying to be discreet as she attempts to whisper into their ears “Do either of you guys know those two?” Both of the boys slowly shake their heads to the side, implying that this woman and (presumably) her husband weren’t there to see them.

 

The woman has now approached Kokichi while her husband doesn’t drag too far behind after making a brief stop at the reception desk. “We know you’re concerned sweetie,” she rubs Kokichi’s back in an attempt to ease the boy’s anxiety “but you can’t just run through the parking lot like that. Your grandfather isn’t the spring chicken he used to be you know!” Though it’s clear her words were meant to discipline Kokichi, the older woman still offers him a soft smile so the boy can understand that she was far from being mad at him.

 

However, her husband doesn’t take too lightly to the jab she just threw at him and promptly crosses his arms across his chest as he lets out a huff. “Now don’t go fillin’ the boy’s head with lies Akane! I’m as spry and lively as I was back when I was twenty!”

 

Her only response is to close her eyes as she laughs into her palm “Oh now don’t you be so stubborn Junpei!” she walks over to him and leaves a kiss on the same cheek she’s likely kissed for however long the two of them have been together.

 

It's only when the two are directly side-by-side that Shuichi is able to recall where he has seen the elderly couple before. _“It was the Motive Video! These two are_ ** _Kaito’s_** _grandparents!”_ that’s when Shuichi’s brain takes a sudden pause even when he’s able to remember these faces so clearly _“But then…how do_ ** _they_** _know Kokichi?”_

 

Kokichi turns to face Kaito’s grandparents and bows in their direction “Nana…Granddad…I-I’m very sorry I m-made the two of you worry! I was just…really worried about them…” Saying that Kokichi’s current behavior was an anomaly was one thing, but to hear him call the elderly couple by those names, coupled with a certain fact that _only_ Shuichi is currently aware of, can only mean-

 

”Oh I guess they must be Kokichi’s grandparents then.” Rantaro says offhandedly.

 

The figurative light bulb in Shuichi’s head may have lit up a few seconds ago upon remembering the identities of the elderly man and woman, but that same light bulb has likely exploded upon figuring out this bombshell of a truth. _“Oh Rantaro…Kokichi isn’t their_ only _grandchild though.”_

 

The grandfather, Junpei, chuckles to himself as he pats Kokichi on the head as if to reassure the boy he wasn’t in the wrong “There’s no need to stress yourself over it sport! Your grandmother and I know you were just worried about your brother Ken.”

 

_Wait…What?!?_

 

This seems to be the shared thought running through Shuichi, Kaede, and Rantaro’s heads as their mouths hang open in confusion, all three of them questioning if what the name drop they just heard was in fact true. Was this Kokichi’s _real_ name and it was simply changed in the simulation for whatever reason? If Shuichi was correct in deducing Kokichi and Kaito’s relation maybe this name change was necessary to avoid any complications in the killing game? But even that doesn’t make sense: if their past memories were erased regardless what was the point of changing a single person’s name? Even Shuichi’s uncle can’t stop himself from bringing a hand to his chin in an attempt to try and analyze the situation occurring with Shuichi and his friends.

 

Kokichi, or rather ‘Ken’, turns back around to come face-to-face with his fellow partakers of the killing game and softly coughs into his hand as he prepares to speak “I guess I better start explaining huh?” his grandparents give him a confused look while Shuichi, Kaede, and Rantaro nod in unison “Well for starters my name is Kenkichi Ouma, but e-everyone just calls me ‘Ken’ for short. The person the three of you were confusing me for is actually my younger twin brother, Kokichi.”

 

Considering the difference in personalities between the two ‘Kokichis’ the odds of them actually being twins was another possibility Shuichi had considered, but he wanted to hear more from the soft-spoken boy first before he came to any kind of conclusion himself. Kaede and Rantaro on the other hand are visibly shocked at this new revelation, but Shuichi couldn’t blame them-it was pretty mind-boggling after all. But they likely weren’t prepared for the _bigger_ truth Shuichi managed to piece together before either of them could.

 

“W-Wait twins?!?” Kaede squeals out, unintentionally garnering some attention from random individuals moving about through the lobby. “I think I vaguely recall him mentioning something about a brother,” she spots Kokichi’s grandparents and decides to omit a certain _detail_ Kokichi had brought up when they briefly interacted alone “but I thought maybe he was just lying about all of that…”    

 

“Hmm you may not be wrong Kaede.” Rantaro chimes in “Whatever Kokichi said could have been a fabrication of his own volition or just a part of the false memories Team Danganronpa gave him.” He lets out a sigh, letting his hands fall to his hips “Regardless, it probably doesn’t make too big of a difference now that everything is over…”

 

“Y-Yeah, you’re probably right.”

 

“Kokichi wasn’t the only family member of mine inside the killing game though.” Ken’s words immediately grab Kaede and Rantaro’s attention. Shuichi was already aware of what Ken was about to say but he still focuses his sights on the boy, not failing to notice that the boy is steadily becoming more comfortable with speaking to the trio. “Our older brother Kaito also got put into the game with Kokichi.”

 

Kaede’s shocked reaction was to be expected “H-Hold on - you and Kokichi are related to Kaito?!? That’s insane!!”

 

However, Shuichi didn’t expect how nonchalantly Rantaro reacted to the news. “Huh,” he says aloud as he brings a hand to his chin “I can kind of see it if I’m being perfectly honest. The times we watched them interact on the show reminded me a lot of when I would bicker with my little brothers.” The former Ultimate Survivor chuckles at his comment “Guess my simple observation ended up being reality in the end!”

 

“So how do you know our boys exactly? You all their friends from school? Or were you all part of that killing show too?” the older man asks.

 

“Oh that’s right, where are my manners! My name is Kaede Akamatsu; it’s nice to meet you two!” Kaede ends her introduction to the grandparents with a curtsy and a bright smile on her face.

 

Rantaro walks over to shake the man and woman’s hands “Rantaro Amami. Your grandsons were definitely _interesting_ haha…” He certainly knows how to come off as charming without actually _trying_ to be charming and the elderly couple definitely appears very flattered.

 

“And I’m Shuichi Saihara, it’s certainly nice to meet the both of you.” Shuichi smiles as he gestures his hand out towards his uncle “This is my uncle Taro - he stopped by to visit me after I woke up.” Shuichi’s uncle steps forward to exchange pleasantries with the elderly couple upon being introduced.

 

The grandmother’s eyes seem to brighten when Shuichi introduces himself “Oh so you must be that ‘Ultimate Detective’ boy Ken was always talking about!” Ken’s face turns a light shade of pink and scratches his cheek in embarrassment after his grandmother brings the attention on him “From what he’s told us it seems that both of our grandsons were quite fond of you young man!”

 

The old woman’s smile makes him a little happy, for some reason finding it a bit relieving to hear that he left a good impression on Kaito’s - and by extension Kokichi’s - family. But Shuichi does find it a bit strange that the elderly woman and her husband only _heard_ about him in addition to not immediately recognizing that he, Kaede, and Rantaro were a part of the same killing game as their grandsons. Could that imply they didn’t actually watch the killing game? “ _Of course they didn’t,”_ Shuichi deduces _“what grandparent would want to see their grandchild be murdered or executed on a show that takes pride in producing that kind of content?”_ Just the idea of Kaito and Kokichi’s grandparents watching the two of them constantly at odds with each other and eventually witnessing the two of them die is just heartbreaking to Shuichi.

 

“Yeah, when we found out our grandsons got abducted to be a part of that show my wife and I were worried sick.” Mr. Momota explains as he lays a hand on his wife’s shoulder, the older woman’s smile slowly dropping as she recalls the experience “Ken here was so concerned for his brothers he offered to watch the show for us so we wouldn’t have to experience that pain ourselves. Kept us updated on how the boys were doing too.” Shuichi notices Ken visibly flinch when Mr. Momota brings this up – something about what his grandfather said clearly made him nervous. Kaede, Rantaro, and Shuichi’s uncle seemed to have picked up on this too, but decide to not call the boy out on it.

 

“It was nice to hear that at least Kaito and Kokichi were doing their best to try and end that game at every chance they could.” Mrs. Momota’s comment brings a small smile back to her face, but it seems like both her and Mr. Momota fail to see the brief look of guilt in Ken’s eyes.

 

“ _What could be bothering him so much?”_ Shuichi questions ”… _Or more precisely what exactly is he_ hiding _?”_

 

He notices that Mr. Momota is becoming furious when he spots the elderly man clenching his fist at his side “But then that…that DAMN MASTERMIND went and killed my grandsons!” With that inflection in his voice Shuichi was certain the old man would have punched a wall if it was close enough. Shuichi spots a few passersby briefly looking at the group with concern when the man shouts before they continue on with whatever task they were doing. Shuichi, Kaede, and Ken were definitely surprised by sudden leap in volume while Rantaro and his uncle kept their footing. However, in that brief moment Shuichi did not fail to spot Ken’s expression shift from fearful to guilty in the span of a few seconds.  

 

That’s when things began to make sense to Shuichi…he’d certainly have to talk to Ken alone when he had the chance. Amidst his thoughts he barely has a chance to notice Mrs. Momota trying to calm her husband while Ken uncomfortably squeezes at the sleeve of his school uniform, it seems like his grandparents still haven’t noticed his nervous demeanor. Shuichi looks to his sides and notices that his friends seem to have also picked up on the interesting statements from Mr. Momota and Ken’s reactions. And while his uncle may be missing some of the context that Kaede and Rantaro are aware of, the man can at least understand the connection between Ken’s behavior and what info Mr. Momota provided.

 

“It was certainly nice to meet you all,” the elderly woman says with a bow “now if you’ll excuse us we want to go check on Kaito and Kokichi now that we are here.” Shuichi’s group moves aside to allow the family to pass, he sees Ken look his way with a nervous look in his eye before the boy continues on toward the elevators. The former Ultimate Detective lets out a sigh, his curiosity over the whole situation still roaming around in his thoughts. Even if it seemed like all of the answers were obvious, Shuichi still couldn’t shake the feeling that there were still more questions he needed answers to. Shuichi hears his uncle chuckle behind him as he feels the older man place his hand on his shoulder.

 

“I know _that_ look when I see it Shuichi – if this peaked your interest then by all means go ahead and give chase.”

 

“But Uncle you just got here-“Shuichi begins but the man raises his hand to object.

 

“Yes, but I still have many more opportunities to come visit since you all won’t be able to leave until the rest of your group wakes up.” The man smiles and pats Shuichi on the back “Besides, I’m sure your aunt would like to come check on you as well so the two of us will stop by soon.”

 

Shuichi’s lips draw into a thin smile “R-Right, of course Uncle.” He steps forward to embrace the man once more, getting his hair playfully ruffled by his uncle in the process.

 

“Now go on and solve that mystery of yours my boy, and I’ll be sure to let Ayano know you’re doing alright. We’ll come see you soon Shuichi.” Shuichi’s uncle turns his attention to Kaede and Rantaro as he begins to make his way out of the building “And it was nice to meet the two of you as well, keep an eye on my nephew will you?”

 

Kaede smiles at the man as she locks her arms behind her back “Don’t worry sir, we will!”   

 

With his uncle now out of the lobby Shuichi turns toward his friends, awkwardly giving them an apologetic smile as he fixes his slightly disheveled hair “Sorry guys, but do you mind grabbing something from the cafeteria for me so I can follow up on this? I promise to try and meet you two in the rec room later.” Of course Rantaro and Kaede don’t hesitate to agree with Shuichi’s request.

 

“Heh,” Rantaro snickers to himself as his arms cross over his chest “go get ‘em tiger.”

 

Meanwhile Kaede triumphantly pumps her arms to her chest to give her friend some support “Mhmm, good luck Shuichi - let us know what you find out!”

 

Shuichi nods at pair with determination, picking up his walking speed to reach the elevators in time while Kaede and Rantaro walk away from the lobby area. He manages to reach the elevator doors just as they open up for the Momota family- Kaito and Kokichi’s grandparents greet Shuichi with a friendly smile when he informs them that he’d like to tag along to see how the brothers are doing. As they all enter the elevator Shuichi and Ken share a knowing glance; nervous violet eyes meet determined onyx ones as the shorter boy nods at the detective trainee, acknowledging that the two of them have _a lot_ to talk about.  

 

* * *

 

Korekiyo is seated at one of the tables in the recreation room, occasionally attempting to eat bits of his meal from the cafeteria while Angie works on him as if he were a human art project. Even with how long they’ve been out of the simulation Kiyo still finds it bizarre that the girl can stride up to him so casually as if _nothing_ had happened between them. Today was no exception; in the midst of conversing with his older sister, who also found the falsities Team Danganronpa implanted into his memories equally horrifying, the former artist came up to their table and “asked” Kiyo if she could use a face-painting kit on him. And rather than wait for a response like a normal human being Angie went ahead and tied his long locks into a low ponytail then politely asked Kiyo to remove his face mask, which even Kiyo himself questioned why he still chose to wear such a garment. Once he complied and removed his mask Angie let out a small gasp as her eyes widened in amusement when she saw Kiyo’s face without lipstick “Ohh! You have such a handsome face Kiyo, it’s such a shame that you cover it up!” she had said.

 

Now, about ten minutes into their face painting session Angie is adding small cherry blossoms to the tree branches she painted on the side of Kiyo’s face. Kiyo’s sister, a tall woman in her late twenties with a professional-looking bob hairstyle, cannot help but snicker as she witnesses her little brother trying to refrain from moving. “Aren’t you excited that Shuichi, Maki, and Himiko woke up today Kiyo?” Angie excitedly asks as another stroke of pink brushes across Kiyo’s cheek “And once Kokichi, Keebo, Tsumugi, and Kaito wake up we’ll all be happily reunited!” The former anthropologist tenses up at the mentioning of the small redhead, which gains a look of sympathy from his sister, but Angie doesn’t seem to notice the obvious tension she caused.

 

Seeing her place the brush down in order to prepare another, Kiyo decides to ask the cheerful girl a question that has been weighing on his mind during the time they’ve been awake “Angie please do not take offense when I ask this, but to put it bluntly how is it that you could forgive me so easily after _murdering_ you without a just cause?” Kiyo is met with a look of confusion from the shorter girl once he says his piece.

 

“Huuh?” is Angie’s response “Is that why you are so tense Kiyo? There is no need to worry about any of that anymore!” The girl says with a cheery smile on her face as she clasps her hands together, leaving both Kiyo and his sister dumbfounded. Sure, Angie had already forgiven him not long after they had woken up, but that doesn’t mean Kiyo isn’t any more confused by how that girl’s train of thought works.

 

“I’m afraid I must agree with Korekiyo on how you are choosing to handle this Ms. Yonaga. Logically speaking it would not be too unusual for you to bare some sort of ill will towards him.”

 

Angie’s sudden laugh takes the Shinguji siblings by surprise “Nyahaha! There is no need to be so formal Ichiko, please call me ‘Angie’! Besides it’s much easier on the heart to learn to forgive and forget instead of being spiteful, don’t you think? And I know Atua wouldn’t want me to hold a nasty grudge against someone who isn’t fully at fault for their actions either! So let’s all just leave that bad stuff behind us, ok?” it was almost scary how easily Angie was able to brush off something like this without a care in the world, but Kiyo supposes he shouldn’t be too surprised.

  
  
Apparently Angie was an exchange student from a small region in Hawaii and from the bits of her true past that Kiyo was able to gather, and a bit of his own research, it seemed like the girl wasn’t lying when she said Atua was a guardian entity the people of her island prayed too. However, in the simulation the oddities that Angie would mention about her island’s customs along with how she talked of Atua made the other students view Angie’s god as the figurehead of a cult rather than as a legitimate religious deity. Of course these were all merely fabrications to make the audience view Angie as crazy or eccentric, but the _real_ Angie was just as eccentric as she was in the simulation yet her island’s practices were not nearly as outlandish as they were made out to be in the killing game. In a way Kiyo also felt a bit of sympathy towards the artist (would she still be considered an artist?); people would likely label her a kook when she was just a simple island girl whose religion got warped by the media.    

 

However, even through all of this Angie did not seem too phased by everything. Not to say she wasn’t upset at what Team Danganronpa had done, because she was, but Angie gave the argument that because _she_ knew what was true about her background there was no need for her to try and fight to disprove the lies of the media. Kiyo supposes this course of action is to be expected of someone as aloof as Angie, but he can’t really fault her for that. He’d be lying if he said he never wished he could be as carefree as someone like Angie.

 

A small smile graces his sister’s lips “Very well then _Angie_ ,” Ichiko says with a small chuckle “I suppose when you phrase it like that it’s hard to disagree with that kind of logic.” The tan girl lets out a cheer, seemingly happy to have gotten her point across to the siblings “And I must say I am rather delighted myself to finally have an opportunity to speak with Mr. Sai…ahem…I mean _Shuichi_ now that the killing game is all said and done. With his testimony along with the staff members here that are now willing to speak out we may finally be able to make a solid enough case to shut down the televised killing games of Team Danganronpa.”

 

Ichiko Shinguji was a federal prosecutor who had become all too familiar with Team Danganronpa within the past few years. Countless times she would be approached by former participants or their families to try and make a federal case against Team Danganronpa in attempt to shut down the killing games. However, all the cases made little to no footing in the federal courts due to the limited amount of hard evidence Ichiko could provide. The Serenity Peak staff was too frightened to testify and ran the risk of losing their jobs caring for victims of the simulation. But aside from the multiple charges of kidnapping and the participants agreeing to act as witness testimony it was never enough to warrant a full case hearing. It also didn’t help that Team Danganronpa were prepared to hire the best legal staff in order to shut down any potential lawsuits. However, with the amount of controversy surrounding the running of this particular season along with how Kiyo’s “classmates” were able to end the killing game Ichiko believes that this time around making a case against the killing games will go much more smoothly. Not only that, but she also believes that Team Danganronpa will have a much harder time finding a firm to represent them in court given the recent events of the 53rd season. Kiyo supposes that there may be a glimmer of hope at the end of this tunnel afterall.   

 

Angie grabs one of her smaller paintbrushes and dips it into the white face-paint before she turns to Kiyo with her usual cheery smile “Now then Kiyo, shall we continue with your-“

 

The sound of the rec room doors opening catches the attention of the group at the table, and Kiyo tenses slightly when he sees the figures of the two people coming into the room. The girl with loose braids is pulling a smaller girl with red hair by the hand, an excited grin is on the former’s face. “C’mon Himiko they have some great movies in her-” Tenko immediately freezes up when she spots Kiyo’s group sitting at one of the tables in the room, and the former anthropologist notices that Himiko has spotted him and is sending a dark look in his direction. He can’t really blame her for it though…

 

“You…” Himiko says with a rare malice in her voice.

 

“Oh hello Himiko! Hello Tenko!” it seems that reading the room was never quite Angie’s forte “Would you like to join us? I’m almost done with Kiyo’s face-painting and I still have _plenty_ of supplies!” If this was Angie’s attempt to lighten the mood it wasn’t off to the best start.

 

Himiko stepped in front of Tenko with her hands balled into fists as she approached Angie and the others, but when she gets a reasonable distance from the table she can’t even bring herself to look anyone in the eye. “G-Go away…” her voice is a little above a whisper, but Kiyo can hear the anger in her words “I-I don’t wanna see the person who _murdered_ my best friends!!” When Kiyo looks over at Ichiko she has her hand over her chest, a look of either sympathy for Himiko or guilt for indirectly causing the girl emotional trauma is etched onto her face. Angie, while visibly shocked at Himiko’s outburst, is oddly quiet at the moment.

 

In the time it took Himiko to walk over and yell at Kiyo, Tenko rushed over to the girl and lightly grabbed her by the wrist. “Himiko…” the concern in Tenko’s voice is clear as day “i-it’s ok there’s no need to-”

 

However Kiyo accepts that the best course of action is simply for him to leave the room and spare Himiko the stress “No Tenko it's quite alright, I’ll just see myself out. Himiko has every right to hate me for what I did and to remain in the presence of both you and Angie will only bring her more pain. Casually lounging with the two of her friends I murdered for a disgusting reason as if _nothing_ happened would be an insult to her…” He proceeds to stand up from his place at the table but as he reaches over to grab his face mask Angie snatches it off the table before he gets the chance to.

 

“Uh-uh Kiyo, you must wait for the paint to dry first!”

 

“Angie, now is not the time for-“Angie grabs for his hand and starts to drag him toward Himiko and Tenko; despite knowing he could easily escape from her grip Kiyo allows this action to carry out against his better judgment.

 

“Now Kiyo remember how I said we must listen to Atua’s guidance and find it in our hearts to forgive and forget?” Angie’s voice is cheery but her question to him was clearly rhetorical – there was no need to voice a response “Weeell, Tenko and I have both forgiven you, so you should be able to forgive yourself and forget those mistakes that weren’t completely your doing!” She leaves Kiyo with a smile as she walks over to Himiko, placing one of her paint-covered hands on the smaller girl’s shoulders “Himiko, do you think _you_ can find it in your heart to forgive Kiyo?”

 

Himiko shakes her head in response and tries to avoid making eye contact with Angie; she instead settles for staring at the ground to try and keep her tears to herself. “N-No! Angie…he-he killed you _and_ Tenko…how can I just be ok with that?!?” She feels the hand on her wrist release itself in favor of placing it on her unoccupied shoulder and suddenly she is eye level with Tenko, who decided to kneel on the ground beside her.

 

The former aikido master offers the girl a small smile, the smile Himiko remembers seeing one last time before it was taken away from her. “I’m glad you’re still choosing to no longer hold your emotions back Himiko,” Tenko drops her smile in favor of a stern, neutral-looking expression “but Angie is right, holding this hate towards him won’t do you any good.” She lets out a small sigh as her gaze shifts to the floor “To be honest when I found out Kiyo was behind what happened I wanted to snap that degenerate’s arm behind his back,” though the statement lacked Tenko’s usual amount of intensity she still noticed Kiyo visibly flinch at her words “and yeah I didn’t forgive him right away either! But when he woke up Kiyo actually felt remorse for his actions and in reality those fake memories are what lead him down the wrong path…and…I knew I couldn’t hold his actions against him after learning that.” Tenko clutches her fist over her chest as she looks Himiko in the eyes “We don’t expect you to move past this immediately Himiko, but can you at least give him a chance to earn your forgiveness?”

 

Hearing Tenko of all people coming to his aid surprises Kiyo, almost as big of a surprise as when she actually began acting less hostile toward him. Though much like Angie, he supposes that there is so much more to Tenko then just the side that was shown of her in the killing game. Himiko takes a step forward to face Kiyo, causing him to hold his breath in anticipation over what she has to say.

 

The smaller girl reaches her hand up as if to tug down a witch hat that no longer exists but then settles for scratching the back of her ear. She is hesitant to make eye contact with Kiyo “I…don’t think I can just forgive you yet Kiyo…” Himiko swallows her nerves and manages to look the man in the eyes, her expression a bit unreadable “but give me some space…and a little bit of time, I’m sure I’ll come around…” She extends a shaky palm toward the ex-anthropologist.

 

Kiyo releases the small breath he had been holding and looks at Himiko with an expression of pure relief “Thank you Himiko, that’s all I could ever ask for…” he accepts the gesture of peace, but Himiko quickly retracts her hand not long after. He knows better than to take the response to heart, Himiko still has much to readjust to after exiting the killing game.

         

The redhead grabs the taller girl’s wrist and begins to lead her towards the area of the room with televisions and sofas, likely to spare everyone the inevitable awkward silence “Nyeh…c’mon Tenko let’s go watch that movie you were talking about.”

 

“W-Whoa Himiko, s-slow down!”

 

Angie and Kiyo can’t help but share a laugh as the two girls walk away; as Angie shouts her goodbyes Kiyo spots Ichiko gracing him with a soft smile – it seems like she is relieved that everything, for the most part, is beginning to resolve itself.  

 

The two make their way back to the table only for Angie to tug at his sleeve to grab his attention, she holds Kiyo’s face mask to him “Before I forget, would you like this back Kiyo?”

 

He chuckles as he gently retrieves that piece of cloth from Angie’s hands “Thank you Angie, but I don’t believe it’s necessary for me to keep this any longer.” Kiyo walks over with the cloth in hand to nearby trash bin and lets it slowly fall on top of the accumulated waste inside the bin.

 

Kiyo allows Angie to continue her face-painting session with Ichiko eagerly observing them as the mask of his past lies in the trash bin, undisturbed and forgotten.

 

* * *

 

Arriving back on the floor of the hospital he and the others are staying in, Shuichi follows Kaito and Kokichi’s family as they make their way to one of the rooms. Ken informs Shuichi that he had asked his grandparents if they could visit Kokichi’s room first before visiting Kaito’s, and of course the elderly couple did not want to deny him after he volunteered to monitor his brothers in the killing game.

 

Stepping into the former supreme leader’s room Shuichi can already feel the heartache emanating from Kokichi’s family when they spot the small form of the sleeping boy on the hospital bed. Shuichi allows the grandparents and Ken to step ahead of him before he proceeds further into the room. A small noise of worry is heard from Mrs. Momota as she takes a seat by her grandson’s bedside with Mr. Momota gently laying his hand on her shoulder to try and ease her worry. Ken whimpers when he takes his younger twin’s hand in his own, but quickly uses his free hand to wipe his eyes on his sleeves before any tears attempt to fall. When Shuichi finally turns his attention to Kokichi he can’t help but notice how… _different_ he appears to be. His expression appears almost natural in his sleep, there are no theatrics happening to make him appear sinister and no fake tears or fake smiles to mask what he’s really feeling. For some reason Shuichi can’t shake the feeling that Kokichi looks almost _peaceful_ this way, and he can’t help but wonder if in the rare moments where Kokichi would sleep were the only times the smaller boy allowed himself to be vulnerable and didn’t have to uphold some grand façade. Before can acknowledge the smile growing on his face from this train of thought a cough from Mr. Momota snaps him back to reality.       

 

He gives the family some moments of silence before he decides to approach Ken, surprising the boy when he taps him on the shoulder. “S-Sorry Ken I didn’t mean to startle you…but there are a couple of things I wanted to ask you if that’s ok with you.” There is brief look of nervousness in the older twin’s eyes, but before Ken can respond Shuichi’s attention is caught by a sudden scoff from the boy’s grandfather.

 

“Now you listen here young man,” the warning in his voice earns a disapproving stare from his wife who is clearly upset at his choice of tone toward Shuichi “we’re glad that you were close with our boys, but that doesn’t mean you have the right to pry into-“

 

“It’s ok Granddad, really!” Ken quickly interrupts the potential rant his grandfather was inches from diving into “Shuichi isn’t doing this for the wrong reasons, he’s just curious about a few things.” He turns to the aspiring detective with a smile, one eerily reminiscent of the rare truthful smiles he would see on Kokichi “You can’t really blame him for just wanting a few answers to the questions we probably caused his mind to form in the first place, right?”

 

Shuichi thanks Ken with a grateful nod, but keeps it in the back of his mind to ask Ken about certain topic when the two of them are alone. “Well firstly I wanted to ask you about yours and Kokichi’s last name. Earlier you addressed yourself as ‘Kenkichi **Ouma** ’, but if Kaito is your older brother wouldn’t your last names be **Momota** in that case? What are the circumstances around this?”

 

Ken nods as if to process the question then turns to the bed look at his sleeping twin. “Most people can’t really tell when they look at the three of us together…but me and Kokichi aren’t _biologically_ related to Kaito…” Ken sighs sadly “Or through marriage either…”

 

Oh, so _that_ was Kokichi and Ken’s situation then…Shuichi looks to the grandparents who share the same look of sympathy that he does for the boys as he looks back at Ken, a strong sense of compassion filling his heart. “I…I see…you and Kokichi were adopted…” when he gets a slow nod as a response, Shuichi hesitantly places his hand on Ken’s shoulder in an attempt at easing the smaller boy. “…Are you ok with telling me what happened?” his question is addressed to Ken, but Shuichi looks at Mr. and Mrs. Momota for some kind of warning that he was overstepping his boundaries. Fortunately this doesn’t seem to be the case as the elderly couple gives him no signal as to stop talking.

  

The boy in question taps the hand on his shoulder, signaling that it was no longer needed, and turns around to face Shuichi once again, taking in a deep breath as he prepares his answer. He exhales as his eyes lock with Shuichi’s “When we were little mine and Kokichi’s home life wasn’t too terrible; our mom was an elementary school teacher and our dad had an office job at an accounting firm. Sometimes our dad would even pick up an extra shift so we could all take nice vacations to an aquarium or the beach; those were such happy times for me and Kokichi,” Ken’s lips form a thin smile when he recalls these childhood memories only to revert back to a frown as his story continues “but then all those happy times went away all too quickly…”

 

“When we were nine-years-old our mother…passed away in a car accident…” empathy tugs at Shuichi’s heart when he notices the smallest quiver in Ken’s lips “It was hard on us, but it was even harder on our father. The extra shifts he used to take on occasion for leisure had become a necessity to support the three of us _and_ pay the bills. He started coming home really late each night, sometimes reeking badly of alcohol…” Shuichi internally winces when that detail is mentioned, he can already tell where this could be headed and Mrs. Momota holding a hand over her heart while Mr. Momota clenches his fist only confirms this thought “He would…he would hit us on those nights he had been really stressed…a-and it was only a matter of time before s-someone saw the marks of his abuse on us and reported him. I’m not sure if it was the first time our father hit _me_ , or the first time our father hit _him_ , or the moment we saw our father get taken away in a police car…but one of those moments is what led to Kokichi growing a natural distrusting of anyone who wasn’t me.” A few tears drip down Ken’s cheeks but Shuichi lets the boy regain his composure before he continues his story “We were in an orphanage for a couple of months before we met Kaito. Kaito liked to explore as a kid and one of the areas he liked to go to a lot was around the location of the orphanage. Me and Kokichi usually played at recess by ourselves, either because Kokichi didn’t trust the other kids or they didn’t let us play with them – Kaito changed that though. He saw all of the kids playing outside and decided to join in, but when Kaito saw that me and Kokichi were isolated from the other kids he approached us and asked to join in on what _we_ were doing. Every other day after this he would sneak in to play just with us – he even started calling us his ‘little sidekicks’,” Ken seems to chuckle lightly at this fond memory “he made us feel welcomed in a place where me and Kokichi only had each other. Kokichi was still pretty wary of Kaito initially, but he figured that as long as I was happy he could try to be happy too…”

 

“Then one day we were surprised to see Kaito _inside_ the orphanage; we thought maybe he finally got in trouble for sneaking in at recess or that something bad happened with his family. But when Kaito saw us he ran up to us and wrapped me and Kokichi in a big hug...According to Kaito after spending so much time with me and Kokichi he talked to his parents about maybe adopting us; Kaito was an only child, and he told his mom and dad that he wanted to keep the protective feeling that he felt around us. That day Kaito went from being our friend to being our big brother, and the two of us were glad we weren’t being separated like we feared would happen one day. We didn’t want to forget our parents, our mother especially, so we asked if we could at least keep our last names. It didn’t take too long for me to accept Kaito and his family as my own though, but Kokichi was still as distant as ever. I’m not sure what Kaito did to change that, but eventually they started to get along and the walls Kokichi had put around himself starting coming down for others besides me. It finally felt like the three of us were brothers for the rest of our days.” A sad smile comes onto Ken’s face, which Shuichi registers as a sign to put a hold on asking anymore questions for the time being.      

 

“Thank you Ken, it’s nice that I’m starting to get a clearer picture of everything now.”

 

The older twin’s smile shifts from sad to almost shy as he elicits a small giggle “Don’t mention it Shuichi,” Ken stands up from his seat and politely bows at his grandparents “ummm...me and Shuichi are going to go on ahead to Kaito’s room, would you two mind staying with Kokichi just a bit longer? I don’t want him to feel like we are visiting Kaito longer than we are visiting him…”

 

Ken’s grandmother gives him a warm smile as she takes Kokichi’s hand in her own “Of course deary! Your grandfather and I will be sure to stay with your brother for a while longer before we go to Kaito’s room, don’t you worry!”

 

Looking at Kokichi’s body one last time Ken hovers over his younger twin as he lightly wraps the sleeping boy in a hug “Please wake up soon Kokichi...I miss you two so much…” he whispers to his brother.

 

As Ken steps away from his brother Shuichi bows toward the grandparents as a thanks for their politeness. The two of them step out of the room, but as they begin their walk to Kaito’s room Shuichi decides that now would probably be the best time to ask Ken about a certain issue that was pressing on his mind. “Ken? There was actually one more thing I wanted to ask you, but I thought it’d be best to ask when your grandparents weren’t in the room.”

 

Ken turns his head to look at Shuichi as they slow their pace “Hm? W-What is it Shuichi?” Judging by the brief bit of nervousness Shuichi guesses Ken is already aware of what he will be asked.

 

“Answer me honestly: Why did you lie to your grandparents about some of the things that happened in the killing game?” The two come to a stop in front of what Shuichi assumes to be Kaito’s door, the guilt is clear as day on Ken’s face when the taller boy turns to face him. His violet eyes are threatening to shed tears again, but Ken shakes his head to prevent this.

 

“Shuichi you saw firsthand how that killing game turned my brothers against each other. Do you think I _enjoyed_ having to lie and say they were working together when that wasn’t the case? Because I didn’t! It would break our grandparents’ hearts if they knew what happened with Kaito and Kokichi. How Kokichi had to be the bad guy, how he got two people killed, how Kaito had to...how he had to…” the tears Ken tried to fight back can’t contain themselves as the boy starts whimpering in the middle of the hall.

 

Not one to turn a blind eye to someone in turmoil Shuichi walks up to Ken and gently rests his hands on the smaller boy’s shoulders. “Ken, listen to me – breathe in….breath out...and in...and out...” repeating the same chant and motions used on him earlier, Shuichi manages to guide Ken through his panic attack until the boy is successfully calmed down. After wiping his eyes for what feels to be the tenth time today Ken is breathing at a steady pace once again.

 

“T-Thank you Shuichi...I’m...sorry for that little outburst…”

 

“Don’t worry about, it’s understandable given what you and your family have been through. I’m sorry if it sounded like I was scolding you...but I know you were just trying to do right by your family. Can’t really blame you for trying to keep your grandparents in high spirits and-” Shuichi is caught off guard when Ken suddenly wraps his arms around the taller boy’s torso.

 

“Thanks for understanding...and...thank you for keeping an eye on my brothers in a way I couldn’t...and for doing right by them in the end…”

 

Still a bit surprised at the sudden hug Shuichi decides to reciprocate the gesture by lightly patting Ken on his head “U-Um s-sure thing Ken, d-don’t mention it…”

 

After releasing Shuichi from the hug Ken starts to walk toward a nearby water fountain “I’m just going to get some water really quick if you want to head into the room already Shuichi.”

 

“Ok, no problem.”

 

* * *

 

Stepping into the ex-astronaut’s room Shuichi can’t say he’s too surprised to see Maki by Kaito’s bedside. “Maki! Glad I got to see you again, have you seen Himiko by any chance?” he says with a smile on his face. Though in the back of his mind he’s wondering how Maki is going to respond to the new information he just learned.

 

“Hmph, nice to see you’re finally awake Shuichi.” Maki responds while showing off one of her smaller, rare smiles. “And no I haven’t seen her...I’ve basically been here since I woke up.” She looks down at Kaito and squeezes his hand tighter.

 

“Ah, I see…” as he steps further into the room and closes the door behind him Shuichi becomes confused when he spots a pair of scissors lodged into the doorframe. “Umm what exactly happened her-”

 

“Nothing. Just drop it.” the seriousness in Maki’s voice makes him gulp in fear, he decides to not press that line of questioning any further. “Anyways, have you talked to anyone since you’ve-”

 

They hear the door open and Maki’s gaze immediately darkens at the new visitor. It only takes Shuichi a second to realize why Maki is responding this way “ _Oh no…_ ” his eyes widen in panic as he can only guess what Maki is about to do. “MAKI DON’T-” before he fully warns the girl, a red blur flashes passed him and Shuichi hears a crash against the wall. Quickly turning around he spots Maki pinning a frightened Ken to the wall in a chokehold, eerily feeling a sense of deja vu from the sight.

 

“No, I won’t accept this!” Maki yells at the dangling boy “How...how are _you_ awake before Kaito you little psychopath?!? Answer me!!” Her tightened grip elicits a gargled choking noise from Ken, his noises of panic prompting Shuichi to dash over to try and pry Maki away from the small boy.

 

His attempts at pulling her away obviously failing Shuichi yells out “Maki let him go! That isn’t Kokichi - its his brother!!”

 

Maki doesn’t bother turning around to answer him “Don’t...fucking...lie to me Shuichi…” her words are as cold as ice. A warning that she is not in the mood to be toyed with. But Shuichi isn’t about to let Ken get killed because Maki is too damn stubborn to listen to reason.

 

“Damn it Maki I’m telling you the truth!“ Maki seems to be briefly phased when she notices the water in Ken’s eyes as he desperately nods his head to affirm Shuichi’s words. Seeing an opening the detective quickly reaches into Ken’s pockets, muttering an apology as he does so, and pulls out the boy’s school ID to show to his red-eyed assailant.

 

Recognizing her mistake Maki seizes her grip on Ken’s neck, and promptly drops the boy - a little too harshly and quickly for Shuichi’s liking - to floor as he gasps out for air. Maki shifts her gaze between the two as Ken continues coughing on the floor “Explain to me what the hell is the going on here, now!” she yells.

 

Figuring it’d be best to keep Maki in the loop Shuichi decides to share his newfound information with her “Well you see Maki, the thing is-”

 

“...I can’t believe this," Kens tone was very low, sending chills up Shuichi's spine when he hears Kokichi’s twin speak so angrily- it didn’t fit his normally soft-spoken demeanor at all "you see the face of the person you caused to die and you have the _audacity_ to try and kill them again?!?"

  
  
Maki's gaze hardens as she glares at the boy on the floor "Excuse me?!?"

  
  
"G-Guys let’s not do this now..."

  
  
Both Shuichi and Maki tense up (the ex-assassin to a lesser degree) when they start to hear sniffling. Ken looks up from the floor to meet Makis eyes with his, his face red in anger while heavy tears stream down his face. "You tortured my little brother for information he knew nothing about, and you had no intention of letting him live even if he told you anything!!" Ken screams at Maki, his voice sounding so pained from likely never having raised his voice at anyone in his life "Y-You just assumed he was lying...and then y-you...y-you..." the older twin's tears continue to stain the floor as he struggles to finish his sentence.

  
  
Shuichi wants to try and comfort the boy but he's hesitant to invade the smaller boy's personal space. When he glances at Maki the girl’s stern gaze hasn’t gone unbroken, but he notices the tightly clenched fist at her side slightly trembling. Ken's words seem to be getting to her "...you tried sh-shooting him again and Kaito stood in your way..." the fire in Ken's eyes nearly rivaled the stone cold daggers in Maki’s stare "you not only forced Kokichi to create a plan to essentially kill himself, but you also caused our older brother to kill Kokichi so YOU wouldn't get executed!"

  
  
Maki's guard is briefly lowered when she hears this shocking information, her eyes widening in shock "Wait, Kaito is your-"

 

"Why...Why did you have to act so recklessly?!? I know you were manipulated into doing it, and I sympathize with you to a degree...but your s-selfish 'mission' made the two people I care for most in this world lead each other to their deaths!"

 

Maki stares back at Ken with much less intensity in her eyes “l knew it was a reckless thing to do, but at the time I didn’t really care as long as it meant I could kill the mastermind. And when you’re made to believe the life you led is true you can’t help but to ignore all logic and respond to things in the way your so-called past shaped you to do…” Letting out a sigh she casts her eyes away from Ken with a small look of guilt on her face “Looking back on it all I know that how I reacted to everything in your...brother’s case was really stupid of me, and I’m sorry. If you hate me I don’t blame you, to be honest I hate myself a little bit knowing I let two innocent people die for me...This isn’t something that’s easily fixable.”

    
  
"N-No I...I dont think I'll ever hate y-you...I hate Team Danganronpa more for what they did to my brothers...but its like you said, I can't just...forget about what you did - not yet Maki, I'm sorry..." small tears prick at his eyes as he says this with such a heavy heart.

 

Shuichi notices Maki shake her head, the look of guilt still visible on her face despite the girl trying to cover it up “Don’t be...I honestly would have been more surprised if you had forgiven me right away. Just know that I _am_ sorry Ken...for _everything_ that happened with Kaito...and Kokichi...”

 

Ken continues to let out more tears, struggling to form a sentence through his whimpers after letting so many emotions out at once - Shuichi can’t help but feel sorry for him. “I-I know y-you....are M-Maki...everything w-was just s-so-”  

 

Once again the door to Kaito’s room opens and Shuichi hears the collective gasps from Kaito’s grandparents when they spot Ken on the floor. Mrs. Momota paces over to Ken and she looks absolutely worried “Oh my goodness! Ken sweetie what happened?”

 

“I…” he subtly glances between Maki and Shuichi with a look of such fear that Shuichi feels immediate pity for the boy. “I t-tripped and hit my head on the floor…I-I’ll be right back!” quickly standing from his position on the floor Ken dashes out of the door without another word as his grandparents try to call out for him.

 

“Wonder what could have gotten into that boy? Well he is known for being a bit clumsy I guess...” Mr. Momota grumbles out, eyes widening when he actually spots Maki in the room “Oh, and who are you young lady?”

 

Maki looks at the elderly couple, a bit flustered at the aspect of meeting Kaito’s family “Maki. Maki Harukawa…” The girl’s voice makes it seem like she is just being shy, but Shuichi knows the reasoning behind her nerves. She just choked out one of the grandsons of the people casually asking for her name, and that grandson just _covered_ for her.

 

She’s feeling guilty. And Shuichi can’t help but feel sorry for her, though he knows Maki shouldn’t be blamed completely for all of this drama….that balme belonged to someone _else_.   

 

After hearing Maki’s name Mrs. Momota’s eyes seem to brighten in the same manner they did when Shuichi introduced himself “So _you’re_ Maki!” the old woman claps her hands as she walks over to seize Maki in a hug, the ex-assassin looking quite flustered at the gesture. “Ken told us so many great things about you! But he didn’t tell us you were also cute as button!” Maki blushes madly at the comment, normally Shuichi would chuckle at the girl’s embarrassed reaction - however, he likely knows the mix of emotions running through Maki’s head right now and doesn’t wish to add on to it. “You left quite the impression on our Kaito, even if you were an ‘assassin’ our grandson saw the good in you! And according to Ken you didn’t hesitate to call out Kaito for being thick headed haha!” she ends her string of compliments with a smile to the former assassin.

 

Mr. Momota wears a proud grin as he walks over to Maki and pats her on the back “Yeah and we know Kokichi can be a little hard to handle at times, but we’re glad you decided to look past his mischievousness for Kaito’s sake!”

 

“I...um…” Maki is left speechless at what two have to say, but her previous guilt has only grown thanks to these white lies that were told to protect her from being hated by Katio’s grandparents. “I’m sorry but I have to go,” reaching for Kaito’s door she can’t bring herself to look at the elderly couple in eye “but it was...very nice to meet you two.” She walks out the door without another word.

 

“What a strange girl…” Kaito’s grandfather says offenhandly with a bit of a chuckle in his voice. Taking his wife by the hand the two walk over and settle down by Kaito’s bedside. They start talking amongst each other and to Kaito’s sleeping body, but Shuichi is too busy processing all that’s happened in the past couple of minutes to try and listen in on the conversations.

 

The idea of Maki meeting Kaito’s family _should_ have been a joyous occasion in theory. But thanks to Kokichi and Kaito losing their memories of each other coupled with Maki’s actions during the fifth case this meeting was more painful than it should have been. And one person was responsible for this.

 

Responsible for turning the brothers against each other.

 

Responsible for making Maki resort to physical violence against Kokichi.

 

Responsible for leaving Kaito no option but to **murder** his little brother.

 

And responsible for leaving poor Ken with no other option but to lie about these instances to his grandparents, who were none the wiser.

 

Shuichi feels the rage from earlier beginning to seep its way back into his thoughts _“No...Maki and Ken shouldn’t have to be the ones to bear this burden. If anyone is to blame here it’s_ **_them_ ** _. They are responsible for those two having to deal with this pain and making Ken and Maki feel like it’s their own fault...And I think it’s time I pay a little visit to the bastard responsible for all of this…”_ He feels his fist clench at his side, his resolve to fix this for everyone’s sake now settled.

 

There was no turning back now…

 

After saying his goodbyes to the elderly couple Shuichi hastily approaches the door of Kaito’s room.

 

Kaito’s grandparents are too focused on the ex-astronaut’s sleeping figure to notice that the pair of scissors formerly etched into the wall disappear as the room’s door closes.

 

* * *

 

Ken is thankful no one chose to be in the restrooms right now, the last thing he wanted was for a bunch of strangers to see him sitting against the wall crying his eyes out. He just wanted to come check up on his brothers, but now the weight of his white lies were starting to haunt him. It won’t be long before the truth comes out and when it does the repercussions will be really bad.

 

He really is a horrible person for thinking lying was the best solution when things were looking bad between Kaito and Kokichi…

 

“Stupid...you’re so stupid…” he whimpers. Unlike all the other instances today he doesn’t bother to wipe away his tears.

 

He hears the bathroom door opening - great, now the exact scenario he was trying to avoid is about to become a reality. Ken doesn’t care to be found out _“I guess this is karma biting me in the butt…”_ he’s too emotionally exhausted to try and hide.

 

Footsteps grow louder as they get closer to him, Ken hides his face in his knees as the silent tears keep falling.

 

“Kokichi?” a deep voice asks him - oh right, not everyone knows about the whole twin thing yet “Since when have you been awake?”

 

Ken pries his eyes away from his knees to meet the mysterious voice, and is surprised when he finds himself face-to-face with a much shorter guy wearing a strange beanie. If he remembers correctly this was….Ry..ota? No...Ryoma was his name, he thinks.

 

He shakes his head in response to Ryoma’s question “Sorry...but I’m actually his brother Kenkichi, you can just call me Ken. Kokichi...is still asleep…” He wipes his eyes in an attempt to pull himself together.

 

“Hmph,” Ryoma scoffs as he adjusts his beanie “figured it could be something like that. Got a different vibe from you than I did from you brother, but I still wanted to double-check that I wasn’t wrong.” He reaches into his pocket to pull out a cell phone in a dark blue phone case that seemed to have...cat ears on the top? Ryoma takes a few steps and leans against the wall as he extends his phone out to the boy on the floor. “Here, this might help.”

 

“Huh?” confused Ken reaches out with shaky hands and takes the phone  from its owner. The screen was black, but the small circle looping in the center of the screen indicated that a video was loading.

 

The first thing Ken sees is three sleeping kittens. Then the fluffy gray kitten stretches out in its sleep, the gray kitten with subtle black stripes paws at its own nose, and the lighter gray kitten just curls in on itself. “These...are just random cat videos?” he asks as a new clip is shown of an orange tabby cat rolling around in an empty box, eliciting a very small chuckle from Ken.

 

“That’s right. Look, I’m not the best when it comes to talking things out with people about their problems. Figured you have a lot on your mind so I thought watching something like this might help you forget about it, even if it’s just for a little while. Certainly helps me out when I need it to..”

 

Ken’s lips form into a small smile at the next clip of a cat patting at a closed window while trying to get a bird nestled right outside of the window. Another clip shows two kittens playing with each other on a mattress while their mother watches from a pillow. A more audible laugh is heard from Ken when one of the kittens rolls onto its back allowing the other to playfully pounce them.

 

The video continues on with similar clips throughout, with each one progressively easing Ken’s mind. Ryoma can’t help but smirk at his handiwork “I take it the videos are working?”

 

Ken looks up with a smile “Yeah,” he nods “thank you...I...I really needed this right now.”

 

“Hmph, don’t mention kid. If you still need to relax I don’t mind showing you some stuff from my own pets, but only if _you_ want me to show you.” Ryoma gives him a thumbs-up as he adjusts his beanie. If he didn’t know any better it almost sounded like Ryoma was secretly eager to show Ken his own pets, but was trying to play it cool. Or he could just be overthinking it.

 

Regardless it was a nice gesture that Ken appreciated was being offered to him “Sure,” he agrees “I think that’d be really nice...Thank you.”

 

Smiling Ryoma takes a seat by the boy, grabbing his phone to search through his photo gallery for the right videos “Like I said, don’t mention. All right go ahead and click the thumbnail with the chartreux, siberian, and russian blue kittens - that’s Ash, Mochi, and Lily…”

 

Ken clicks the video as Ryoma starts giving him little details about his cats and their different personalities. His smile grows as he hears Ryoma’s ramblings over each cat’s hijinks in the video.

 

This was just the thing he needed to calm himself down. All the stress he was feeling since arriving at the hospital is slowly escaping from his thoughts.

 

He’ll be sure to thank Ryoma after a few more cat videos, right now he’s contempt in forgetting about his worries.

 

At least he’ll be leaving this restroom a lot more relaxed than he expected…

 

And hopefully he can at least see _her_ before he leaves today.

 

* * *

 

Finding Tsumugi’s room proved to be a bit of a challenge, but eventually Shuichi managed to find it - albeit by complete chance.

 

As he was about to turn a corner in the hall he heard the sound of one of the doors beginning to open. Pressing his back against the wall Shuichi carefully peers around the corner and spots a man and woman leaving a room, both of them dressed quite professionally and wearing dark shaded glasses. Looking closer he manages to spot a familiar logo on a pin both the man and woman had on their blazers. _“Team Danganronpa.”_ he deduces to himself _“Guess I found Tsumugi’s room…”_ Good, that makes his job so much easier.

 

He’s able to pick up a bit of the man and woman’s conversation as they walk down the opposite end of the hallway.

 

“Why did they stick this job on us? It’s not our fault this season went to shit! They should’ve made one of the interns do it - that’s why hire ‘em anyway!” the man yells.

 

“Oh stop complaining!” the woman says, annoyed “This little fangirl was in way over her head when she tried to ‘save the show’. Corporate says _she’s_ fully responsible for all the fuck-ups so we just have to listen.” she scoffs, but Shuichi feels disgusted with how casually the talk about this. “We just have to cut the collateral and try and recover from the backlash…”

 

The man chuckles “Heh, that brat should have known her ideas weren’t gonna cut it. Shouldn’t be surprised with what the writers had to fix either...God I need a drink after havin’ to handle this bullshit…”

 

Their conversation becomes more mumbled as they get farther from Shuichi’s location until he can no longer hear them. He wanted nothing more than to walk up to them and share how done he is with _their_ bullshit. Team Danganronpa seems to enjoy giving him even more reason to despise them, and Shuichi is perfectly contempt with hating the company until it burns to the ground.

 

But that’s not important right now.

 

Walking into Tsumugi’s room two things immediately catch Shuichi’s attention. The first is the sleeping form of the former mastermind. The person responsible for putting him and 14 others through a trauma-induced killing game lay before him, now stripped of the power she once held inside the simulation. “Not so high-and-mighty now, are you Tsumugi?” his question holds such an animosity toward the girl that Shuichi can’t help but clench the handle of the scissors in his pocket even harder.

 

A gift basket sitting on Tsumugi’s end table is the second thing that grabs Shuichi’s attention. The most noticeable item in the basket itself was a Monokuma plushie, its evil smile giving Shuichi the urge to rip it in two but he restrains himself from doing so. Along with the plushie the production team left Tsumugi a toy model of the Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles, a DVD set of the 53rd season (likely an early release copy), what looks like a paycheck, assorted snacks, and...a fake shot put ball. Even Shuichi has to admit that the last “gift” was a little bit cruel.

 

Beside the basket is a decent-sized aqua bin that has an assortment of video game plushies and desk figures, a small anime poster, several colored notebooks, and sketches for a wide variety of costumes. These all seemed to be some of Tsumugi’s personal belongings - likely gathered from her desk at Team Danganronpa’s main headquarters. On top of the various items was a letter with a monochromatic border addressed to Tsumugi. Moving closer to the bin, Shuichi decides to take a peek at the letters contents.

 

_Dear Ms. Shirogane,_

 

 _We’d like to thank you for your contributions to the latest season of_ **_Danganronpa_ ** _. We must inform you that due to your choice of taking on the role of the mastermind for this season your winnings will be smaller when compared to some of the other contestants despite your overall placement in the end. Additionally, due to some of the controversies that occurred in the midst of the season we find it in the best interest of the company to terminate your employment with Team Danganronpa. Your final paycheck will be included among any personal items we confiscate from your desk and will be delivered to you once you have exited the simulation._

 

_Sincerely,_

_Team Danganronpa HQ_

 

Unbelievable.

 

Now that their precious show was ruined they run away with their tails between their legs and pin the blame on someone else. He almost feels sorry for Tsumugi, but this letter only furthers his assessment that she didn’t think twice about agreeing to help this season’s production. She knew what they could be capable of, yet didn’t consider they would use a simple intern as a scapegoat for their scheme.

 

**_She is a victim. Just like all of you..._ **

 

But it doesn’t matter anymore. All it takes now is just one cut to either of the wires helping her body recover…

 

**_Killing her won’t solve anything..._ **

 

Just a single snip and everyone will have their justice served…Maybe even Tsumugi.

 

**_Is that the excuse you’re making?_ **

 

Team Danganronpa will probably blacklist her from finding any kind of work and Shuichi can only imagine how her personal life will be affected by all of this…

 

**_That doesn’t mean she deserves to die!_ **

 

The scissors inch closer to the IV drip, their blades ready to make the minor incision…

 

**_You don’t really want to do this, do you?_ **

 

“No..this...this is the only way…” Shuichi hesitates, his grip on the scissors tightening so much his knuckles turn white from the strain “...the only way to make things righ-”

 

**“I will come up with the best, most gruesome murders, I promise! Everyone will love it!”**

 

The scissors stop before they even get close enough to cut Tsumugi’s IV drip.

 

Shuichi gasps when he recalls hearing “himself” say these words with such a disgusting happiness in his voice and a disturbed smile on his lips. He falls to the floor, tossing the scissors as far away from himself as possible. Shuichi stares at his trembling hands, the realization of what he just attempted hitting him harder than Kaito did in the simulation.

 

“What is wrong with me?!?” his voice comes out shaky “I hated Tsumugi for trying to make me think I was some crazy fanboy obsessed with creating a gruesome murder...and yet I almost tried to kill someone who can’t even fight back...I’m no better than that lie they created!” Shuichi clutches onto his chest, taking slow and steady breaths to try and erase the demons in his head that stopped him from using his better judgement.

 

Getting back on his feet Shuichi stares down at Tsumugi with a guilty look in eyes. He couldn’t even comprehend why he thought this was a good idea, but he was so blinded by rage he chose to ignore that the cosplayer was just as much of a victim as he and the others were. She made mistakes - mistakes that she’ll probably regret every day of her life. But Shuichi knows he can’t blame her for _everything_ that happened.

 

“Tsumugi...I might hate the things you were made to do to us, but I know that blaming you for it all makes me no better than Team Danganronpa.” Much like Kokichi, Tsumugi appears very peaceful in her sleep and Shuichi doesn’t fail to notice the bags under the girl’s eyes. Probably from overworking herself trying to make everything run smoothly from the things she had input on outside of the game, before any changes were made without her knowledge that is. If he’s being honest with himself it's actually nice to see the blue-haired girl finally able to properly rest. He assumes she spent every waking moment in the simulation monitoring the killing game, for all he knows this could be the first time Tsumugi is getting any sleep in who knows how long. “I...can’t bring myself to forgive you yet, I’m sorry. But I do wish you a smooth recovery…”

 

As he walks out of the room Shuichi makes sure to dispose of the scissors in the room’s trash can, glad to be rid of the item that served as a reminder of what he nearly did.

 

And although it was nearly unnoticeable, as Shuichi leaves the sounds of Tsumugi’s heart monitor seems to raise in volume ever so slightly.

 

* * *

 

Trying to clear his head as he walks down the hall Shuichi eventually crosses path with Ken, who was exiting Kaito’s room and looked to be in a much happier mood than when Shuichi saw him last. Walking up to Kaito and Kokichi’s brother, the boy’s lips curl into a smile when he spots Shuichi approaching him. “Everything ok Ken?”

 

“Uh-huh,” he nods “my grandma decided to go back with Kokichi for a bit while Grandad stays with Kaito. We’ll probably be heading home in like another hour or so.”

 

“Oh that’s nice, it gives them both an equal amount of visiting time like you wanted!” It was nice to see the boy in a more relaxed mood than he had been when Shuichi and the others first encountered him.

 

Remembering that Kaede and Rantaro were likely waiting for him in the rec room by now the detective invites Ken to join him. The older twin accepts the invitation, mentioning something about looking to see if there was a certain someone was there. Shuichi wasn’t exactly sure who this person could be, but after pressing Ken for so much information earlier he decides to give the boy a bit of breathing room for a change.

 

Stepping into the rec room for the first time Shuichi is pretty impressed with how accommodated the room is. The room itself was a decently large size, tables were spread throughout the room for people to eat or play board games. Three corners of the room had entertainment centers, each equipped with a good quality television, with a couple of couches, loveseats, and bean bag chairs situated in each area. These areas each had two black shelves that held a wide array of DVDs and video games. The last corner of the room had a few vending machines along with two microwaves situated on a small countertop equipped with a sink and two refrigerator/freezer units.

 

He already spots a few familiar faces in the room. Tenko was at one of the microwaves, her back facing the others while she heats up something. Angie was seated at a table with a maskless Kiyo and a woman who looked to be an older relative of his; if this was supposed to be his “deceased” sister she certainly looks different from the “spirit” he and the others saw during Kiyo’s exercism. His peers silently wave at him while Angie continues to focus on the paint she is applying to Kiyo’s face. He spots a familiar set of red hair currently occupying a bean bag chair - Himiko appears somewhat invested in the movie she is currently watching. In another corner of the room Kaede and Rantaro are working together on a level of what looks to be...a cooking game? Their attention clearly occupied, Shuichi chuckles to himself when he settles for letting them be for now.

 

Ken meanwhile has made a beeline for Himiko’s area, Shuichi barely having time to register the boy’s blushing face as he follows behind him. The boy surprises the former mage with a hug from behind and Shuichi can’t help feeling a little confused. “Himiko! I’m so happy to see you again!” Ken says as he nuzzles his head into the girl’s back.

 

But apparently Himiko was just as confused as Shuichi “Nyeeh, Kokichi? When did _you_ wake up?”

 

As much as Shuichi wanted to help Ken explain the situation to her his plan is cut short by the horrified screams of a certain aikido practitioner.

 

“AAAAHHHHH!! What do you think you’re doing you degenerate male?!?”

 

Fear and maybe a bit of regret registers on Ken’s face as he turns around and frantically waves his arms to try and stop the incoming force that is Tenko Chabashira. And before he or Shuichi can say a word in his defense Tenko is tossing the smaller boy into another bean bag chair; the bags of popcorn she was holding fly into the air, scattering their buttery content all over Shuichi and Himiko. Himiko groans in annoyance as the food falls on her clothes while Shuichi screams in shock as he tries to pick popcorn out of his hair.

 

“GAAH! S-Sorry Kokichi!” Tenko awkwardly laughs as she twindles her fingers together in guilt “It’s a force of habit y’know?” When she turns around to face the buttery mess of hers she rapidly bows her head in apology “And sorry for getting the two of you dirty! I didn’t want Kokichi knocking the popcorn out of my hands so I tried flipping him as quickly as I could!”

 

Shuichi walks over to help Ken sit rightside up in the chair he was just thrown into, the boy still looking a bit dazed as he flicks off a piece of popcorn that somehow remained on top of Shuichi’s ahoge. “Well first off I’m not Kokichi, he’s actually my younger twin. My name is Ken...and the reason I was hugging Himiko was...well…” Ken stammers, awkwardly avoiding eye contact with the girls as he tries to finish his explanation

 

Himiko lazily stands up from the comfort of the bean bag chair, puffing her cheeks as she looks down at nothing in particular and tries to wipe the filth away from her clothes. “I feel like I got hit with a Nausea curse,” she sighs as she scratches behind her ear “I’m gonna to go take a bath to recharge my MP, just fill me in on this tragic backstory when I get back…” she mumbles to Shuichi before making her way to the exit.

 

Shuichi is actually surprised Tenko didn’t try running after Himiko or offer to help her bathe, rather she just nodded at the redhead and returned her focus to Ken. “Well...me and Himiko...were actually dating before she got abducted for the killing game…” he hides his face away from Tenko, fearful that the athletic girl may snap him like a toothpick after sharing this information.

 

This new piece of Ken’s history (and possibly Kaito and Kokichi’s, by extension) is definitely insightful, and now Shuichi’s sympathy for the boy onlys grows now knowing that three people in his life were abducted and had their memories wiped for a killing game. But much like Ken, he can’t help but be concerned over how Tenko will respond.

 

“O-Oh...I see.” she says with a bit of small of surprise in her voice “T-That’s really great! Ha ha...” All three of them could tell this happiness was forced, and Tenko looks to the floor awkwardly.

 

“Tenko, you don’t have to lie to me. I know how you feel about Himiko, so there’s nothing wrong with you being so attached to her!”

 

Tenko lets out a sad chuckle “And _you_ don’t have to lie to me either alright Ken? I know I was a total creep around her and Himiko deserves so much better! That’s why I’m just going to do my best to be the friend she needs after what she had to go through!” she walks over to Ken and puts her hands on his shoulders, giving him a smile that is both sad and endearing coming from Tenko. “You seem like a nice kid, definitely less of a little brat then your brother, so I think you’d be the only guy I’m ok with having Himiko’s heart!”

 

Ken can’t help but blush at the surprise compliment and even Shuichi is pleasantly surprised that _Tenko_ is giving a male words of praise. “I j-just wanted to thank you for at least keeping an eye on Himiko during the time you had with her! S-Sure you were a little... _open_ with your feelings, but I can’t really hold that against you Tenko! You still protected her in a way that I couldn’t! And if I’m being totally honest you helped Himiko grow as a person; even out here she was still pretty lazy, but I always saw it as a cute trait of hers.” he chuckles when he recalls all the times Himiko would just want to nap together under a tree or ask for a piggyback ride “She still has a bit of that now, but you taught her not to afraid of expressing her emotions and it definitely seems like its carried over haha…I know she probably doesn’t remember me yet, but I’m hoping that with time we can either pick up where we left or start over...”

 

Suddenly Ken’s face becomes really red as he prepares his next words carefully “A-And w-well since we _both_ bring out the b-best Himiko I wouldn’t feel r-right taking her from y-you if she does somehow remember me….s-so I just thought I should tell you…” he audibly gulps “I d-don’t mind if both of us want to p-protect Himiko’s heart!” Once again Ken hides his face in a panic and Shuichi feels his own gut clench in worry when he hears Ken drop this little idea.     

 

Tenko’s own face goes red, but not for the reason Shuichi was expecting “Wh-WHAT?!?!” she shouts out in panic. “You seemed like you were one of those rare breed of boys who are too innocent and pure to think such perverted thoughts, but I was wrong?!?!” She nervously shoots an accusatory finger at Ken “W-What are you trying to extort from me or Himiko by doing this you deg - you...twin?!?” Even Tenko didn’t seem to know what she wanted to say that didn’t make her sound like a broken record. “Is it money? Fame? Sex? Spill it...you!”

 

“I swear it’s n-nothing like that! You just looked really cute with Himiko that’s all!!” Ken immediately puts his hands over his mouth, realizing in horror of what he just let slip out of his mouth.

 

Tenko quickly stands up, her fist trembling as her face scrunches up into an unreadable expression and a small bead of sweat becomes visible on her chin.

 

“Tenko?” Shuichi asks “..Are you ok-”

 

“AAGH!! I-I have to go, bye Shuichi!” too embarrassed to say another word Tenko dashes over to the doors, accidentally knocking over a trash can as she exits the room.

 

Ken collapses back onto the bean bag chair letting out a sigh after having to handle Tenko’s rollercoaster of emotions first-hand “Was it this exhausting to talk to her in the simulation?”

 

Shuichi can only laugh at the question, though he does feel a little bad laughing at Ken’s romantic struggles “Oh you don’t even know the half of it haha…”

 

A tap on his shoulder catches Shuichi’s attention and when he turns around he is face-to-face with the woman who bore a resemblance to Korekiyo.“Hello Shuichi, my name is Ichiko Shinguji.” she reaches out for a handshake, which the detective briefly hesitates on before deciding to return the gesture “There is something I would like to discuss with you, do you think you could spare me a moment of your time?”

 

He’s not sure what this could be in reference to, but if Kiyo’s sister of all people want to speak with him for whatever reason Shuichi can’t help but be a little curious. He follows Ichiko as she leads the way to table Angie and Kiyo occupy.

 

For some reason Shuichi can’t help but shake this feeling that this conversation they are about to have will be more important than he could imagine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: Awakenings can be a good thing or bad thing, it just depends on who experiences it. Who is there to help you can also affect it...
> 
> So I decided that this chapter would be the "wrap up" on the survivors' first day of waking up for a few reasons. First, if I tried to put everything into this chapter like I originally wanted I would burn myself out which would probably delay the story more. Second, these chapters have been getting longer as they've gone on and I don't want it to be a pattern so this time I found a good cut off point that is still a decent amount of content to read without it being too much in one sitting. Lastly, it gives me more time to properly organize how I want the events in the next chapter to play out since there will be quite a few time skips and "scenes" in chapter 4. 
> 
> Hopefully you guys are ok with this, because I really do want it to feel like this story is progressing at a steady pace.
> 
> As always please feel free to leave comments and kudos, its really fun reading through all of them! And should anyone make fan art for this story or come across any please link me to it so I can share it, I LOVE seeing art for fics get made :D!


	4. Unaligned part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shuichi learns more about Kokichi's past and two others experience rather tearful awakenings and reunions...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uploading from mobile sucks, would not recommend haha XD..
> 
> Thanks to megastarstrike for beta-ing a big chunk of this chapter!
> 
> And we've reach 1,500 hits nearly 100 kudos, thank you all soo much :)!!

 

* * *

 

_How could I live on with what I've done?_

  
_You took me in, showed me love_

  
_When I had nowhere to run_

 

* * *

 

_3 days after Awakening_

 

Gonta sits patiently by Kokichi’s bedside, only the sound of the smaller boy’s heart monitor keeps the room from being dead silent. The giant feels a mix of emotions in his head and his heart when he looks down at the comatose body of the ex-supreme leader. He feels sad that Kokichi “died” thinking he had no one. He feels empathy for how vulnerable Kokichi looks in his current state, even Gonta knows how much Kokichi would hate to be seen as “ _weak_ ”. He’s relieved knowing that Kokichi _will_ wake up eventually -  he’ll probably question everything, but Gonta will be there to help him. He also feels protective of the boy; knowing that his memories got messed with as well, Gonta won’t let any of the “bad people” hurt Kokichi again. But the one thing Gonta can’t bring himself to feel is anger. No matter how many times he went to Kokichi’s pod while he was awake, or saw reruns of the show before the live episodes, or even the amount of times he visited Kokichi’s room once he was pulled from the simulation - every single time Gonta found no reason to have any hate toward the boy sleeping in the bed right now.

 

Above everything else he just wants Kokichi to feel safe when he wakes up, but with how nice the hospital staff is Gonta doesn’t see that being an issue. “Kokichi, please wake up soon. Others beside Gonta miss you a lot, just remember that.” Gonta gently strokes his hand through the smooth curls of purple hair as a small smile forms across his lips. He finds it so strange that someone who tried so hard to be hated can look so at peace in their sleep. In the end, Gonta chooses to believe that Kokichi had done what he did to try and help everyone, that he wasn’t evil at heart - he was just scared and paranoid.

 

He hears the door leading into the room open up. However, instead of the visitor being a doctor or someone from Kokichi’s family like he expected, Gonta is surprised to see Miu of all people coming into the room. After he woke up from the simulation, Gonta expected Miu to hate him for killing her. But when he ran into the former inventor in the hospital and desperately started to apologize to her, Miu only responded with an obnoxious laugh.

 

_“The fuck you apologizin’ for Big Dick!? Hell I thought it was fuckin’ hilarious that a little pussy like you did me in, and yes pun fuckin’ intended! B’sides last thing I needed was Sherlock Homo findin’ out I killed his little butt buddy so we gucci ya wolf fucker!”_

 

Gonta didn’t really understand most of what she had said, but she was choosing to forgive him for what he did to her and that put his mind at ease. But right now Miu seemed to be annoyed at presence for some reason. “Tch, the fuck you doin’ here dipshit?! I can’t believe you’re _still_ waitin’ for that pubeless twink to wake up from his little sex dreams with Pooichi!” she yells with such intense vigor “Ain’t ya pissed at Kokichi for what he did to you Gonta?!”

 

Miu honestly didn’t think Gonta would hold Kokichi’s actions against him did she? Gonta would never regret protecting Kokichi, even if doing so did end up costing Gonta his life within the simulation. Even if Kokichi did “trick” him, Gonta feels that Kokichi didn’t do it with ill intent in mind. “N-No, Gonta could never be mad at Kokichi!” the volume in his voice startles Miu, making her slightly tremble as a bead of sweat goes down her forehead. “Ah s-sorry Gonta did not mean to be so loud!” Gonta stammers out an apology as he scratches at the messy bun he’s styled his wild hair into. “But Kokichi only wanted to protect friends in the end... how could Gonta hate him for that?” This is the answer he gives to Miu because to him,  _this_ is his truth -and nothing will change his mind about it. The former entomologist does wonder why Miu is in the room though; why would she come to Kokichi’s room all of a sudden but then seem surprised that _Gonta_ of all people would be here? “Miu, Gonta would like to know why you choose to visit Kokichi? Me would think Miu not too fond of Kokichi after...everything…” he can’t help his voice from sounding sad as he starts remembering all that happened in the fourth trial.

 

Miu absentmindedly twirls a strand of her hair as she starts walking toward Kokichi’s bed. She looks down at the ex-supreme leader, frustration and concern somehow mixed into her expression. “Oh believe me, I’m still pissed at all the shit this little cuck pulled in the killing game!” Miu growls at Gonta making the giant wince in fear, but as she takes the empty seat by Kokichi’s bed her expression softens a bit. “But...I still feel like I gotta apologize to him - I _did_ plan to kill him y'know…He’s a little shit yeah, but even I’ll admit he ain’t a bad guy like he wants us to think!” Gonta smiles at the inventor, he guesses that even Miu is capable of feeling bad for someone when she isn’t trying to be overly obnoxious.

 

However, Miu’s expression sharpens when she notices the look Gonta is giving her. “HEY! Don’t give me that dopey-ass look crotch rot!” she abruptly stands up, pointing her finger at Gonta while he looks at her with confused terror. “You tell anyone I was bein’ all sentimental and I’ll shrink that tree trunk dick of yours, got it?!?”

 

Once again her threats went right over Gonta’s head with their meaning, but the idea of shrinking anything on his giant body was enough to make Gonta panic. “G-Gonta promise not to say anything! You have my word as true gentleman!”

 

“Tch, that's what I thought! Now you gotta excuse me, but I got me an appointment with a silver-haired twink and I can’t keep him waitin’!” Miu’s boisterous laugh fills the room as she starts making her way toward the door, but as she opens the door she turns to Gonta and whistles to catch his attention. “Hey...let me know when he wakes up alright?” she asks with a sincere smile before exiting the room.

 

Gonta smiles back awkwardly as she exits the room, making sure to keep her request in his head for safe keeping.

 

That girl is definitely a handful and half of the time holding a conversation with her leads to unpredictable results, be it from herself or the unfortunate soul who can’t escape from her until Miu has said her piece. But one thing Gonta will be sure to never forget is how there will never be a dull moment as long as Miu Iruma is around.

 

* * *

 

The last thing Keebo remembers is flying toward the End Wall, his mechanical body preparing to self-destruct against the final barrier surrounding the Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles and let the survivors escape the domain of the killing game. Even as he was inching closer and closer to the fake border Keebo recalls predicticting that the possibility of himself surviving the explosion was less than ten percent. Should at least his head have remained intact after the explosion he could regain consciousness; he would no longer have the luxury of moving about freely, but he was certain one of the survivors wouldn’t mind carrying him - its not as if he weighed _too_ much anyway.

 

Needless to say that when he begins to regain consciousness, Keebo can already tell something is off. For starters, he can distinctly feel himself attached to a _body_ despite the fact there should be little-to-nothing left of his original body aside from his head if his calculations were accurate. Sure, one of the survivors could have somehow attached his head to a compatible body, but Keebo has no idea how long it has been since he lost consciousness; it could have been weeks or even months before they found a body for Keebo. But even so, if his head remained intact after the initial explosion, then the backup power supply in his databanks _should_ have kicked in not too long after the explosion. Yet, Keebo has no memory of interacting with any of the survivors after his self-destruct sequence.

 

It's only after this train of thought that Keebo starts to take in his surroundings; he finds it concerning, however, that he hasn’t been greeted with the usual “ **SYSTEMS ONLINE** ” message that often flashes by his artificial eyes after waking up from his version of the human sleep cycle. “ _Perhaps some of my systems are malfunctioning…_ ” he thinks that would be the most logical conclusion given the damage he likely sustained. Choosing to worry about the lack of visual or auditory cues - the ones that signal the errors in his programming - later, Keebo focuses on analyzing his current whereabouts. With the lightly-colored walls, medical equipment, and general layout of the room Keebo believes this must be a traditional hospital room. Even the surface below him roughy feels like that of a hospital bed - the mattress and pillow provide him a good amount of comfort to his back and the comforter on his body feels…

 

Hold on... _feels_?

 

Keebo is aware that his father installed in him the ability to stimulate the somatic nervous system - him experiencing pain when he tried lifting Shuichi that one time all but confirms this. But the way he feels the bed around him now almost feels… _different_ from how he is used to grasping at things. It's almost like his touch receptors have been replaced with something else entirely. “Just where am-” but Keebo gasps when he hears the voice coming from his mouth. He sounds nearly identical to how he normally hears himself...but was that actual _breath_ he felt coming from his throat? Is that what helped project his voice _normally_?

 

Keebo attempts to grab at his throat and that's when he notices that the medical equipment in the room is hooked up to _him_. And when he looks down at where the IV’s piping is leading Keebo can’t hide his horrified confusion when he sees pale skin on his arm where metal plating is supposed to be. Keebo’s other hand trembles as he reaches over to pinch the arm housing the IV...the skin there feels so real as it gets squished between his fingers. Shaking his head in a panic Keebo brings his hands up to his temple - he ignores how soft and _non-metallic_ his hair feels now - as he desperately tries to comprehend his situation. “What...h-happened to me?!?” his voice is barely a whisper, and he feels his eyes twitching weirdly.

 

Suddenly, the door to the room opens widely and Keebo can’t exactly process what he should be feeling when he sees the person staring back at him through the doorway. Miu is staring back at him wide-eyed while her hands cover her mouth, her expression alone is enough for Keebo to know she’s surprised. It's strange to see Miu dressed so...casually; the simple t-shirt that reads “Mega Milk” (whatever that may mean) and torn-up skinny jeans is quite the different look for the inventor, but Keebo wouldn’t say this change of style is unwelcomed.

 

...But he knows that he shouldn’t be too happy to see Miu again. He saw her dead body in the killing game - eyes bulging out as she struggled to free herself from being strangled. Which could only mean one of two possibilities: either he managed to survive the explosion and this Miu is a vision appearing in a dream-like state (which would also explain the other weird occurrences thus far) or he perished in the explosion and Miu’s spirit is here to guide him to the afterlife. The door closes behind her, and the two are left at a standstill.

 

Faint tears are forming in the corner of Miu’s eyes, but she smiles from ear-to-ear as a hearty chuckle escapes her. “Keebo!!” she yells in excitement as she dashes toward his bed. “Holy shit you’re awake!!” Before Keebo can question what she means by ‘awake’ Miu is already hopping onto the bed and pulling him into a tight hug against her chest, not seeming to care that she is literally straddling the boy’s thighs.“Keebs I’m glad you’re awake, you...you got no idea how much I missed you.” She squeezes his back even tighter and lets her head rest on Keebo’s shoulder. Keebo doesn’t know how he should properly respond to this gesture, and that strange twitching in his eyes only seems to be getting stronger by the second.

 

Without even thinking he finds himself following Miu’s gesture, and slowly wraps his arms around her back. Instinctively, Keebo hugs her tightly as he buries his head in the crook of Miu’s neck - he’s scared that this is all too good to be real. That's when he starts to feel something warm drip down his cheeks, but the source feels like it's coming from his eyes...was he... _crying_? Is this what it feels like to cry? “N-No this can’t be real...my systems will come back online and y-you'll disappear...because y-you’re...you’re…”

 

Miu chuckles and moves her head back so she can properly look at Keebo’s worried face while still keeping him in her embrace. “Haha, there’s no need to worry your pretty like head Keebs - you’re in a world that's as real as my tits!” Her face shifts into a more neutral expression as she unwraps her arms from Keebo’s back, signaling the boy to do the same. Miu slowly interlocks their fingers together causing Keebo’s cheeks to flush a light pink in embarrassment with how forward Miu is being. Suddenly a hint of nervousness shows on her face when Miu seizes one of his arms and begins guiding it toward her ches-

 

“M-Miu what in the world are you doing?!?” Keebo shouts as his cheeks heat up even more while choosing to ignore a bizarre, warm feeling around his waist.

 

“J-Just trust me on this!” Miu shouts with a mix of shyness and directness. She audibly gulps as she slowly directs Keebo’s hand until it reaches its destination - just above her chest.

 

Keebo is a little relieved that Miu didn’t try to make him grab her...breasts...but he is still questioning the actual _purpose_ of her actions.

 

That is until he feels a steady thumping against her chest. He’s familiar with feeling the human heartbeat; in his alleged “memories” he recalls helping his father/creator with his health checkups and examining his heartbeat was common during the examination. Yet doing this with Miu feels more... _intimate_ in a way, and doing so with a hand that he still unsure is his own adds to how emotional this experience is. Keebo still continues to cry, likely too emotional to think of how to properly stop the tears, but for some reason now he feels warmth and...happiness(?) in his tears.

 

“You can feel that, r-right Keebo?” her question comes out with a strange tone of compassion, but Keebo nods in response. “ _That’s_ how you know everything you're experiencin’ right now is the real deal! Still don’t believe me?” with a smile on her face, she takes Keebo’s hand and brings it to a new target - _his_ chest.

 

When the hand reaches his toned chest that is no longer a chassis, Keebo is surprised when he feels the familiar beating from Miu’s chest in _his_ chest. The warmth he felt earlier suddenly makes so much sense.

 

He...has a heart…

 

Torn between confusion and joy Keebo chooses to sniffle as a compromise. “B-But how?”

 

Miu removes the hand from his chest and settles for the two of them keeping their hands interlocked down by their thighs. Her sky blue eyes meet the boy’s beautiful light blue eyes, that are slowly easing up on their tear supply, as a dark pink blush highlights her shy smile. “D-Does it really matter? Can’t we just be glad we get to see each other again Keebo?”

 

The fact that Miu hasn’t tried to make any weird jokes only furthers his thought that this is a dream...but at the same time Miu seems to be speaking from her heart, the way it pitter-pattered against his hand tells him as much. “Of course I’m happy to see you Miu...” he says without a second thought.

 

For a brief instance there are no words between them, but it only takes about five seconds for the two of them to start leaning closer to each other. All Keebo can do is internally panic as the gap between his first kiss gets closer and closer-

 

“Ahem!”

 

The two of them yelp out in fear after being made aware that they are no longer in Keebo’s room. Miu turns her body away from Keebo in an instant while he tries to hide the embarrassment on his face upon realizing just how bad his and Miu’s...positioning...must have looked. Looking over Miu’s shoulder Keebo spots the source of the voice - a doctor with short blue hair and glasses is looking at the two of them with a not-so-impressed look on her face. Beside her is a nurse with dark blond hair styled into a bun and who looks like she’s trying to keep herself from laughing at Miu and Keebo’s situation.

 

The former inventor lets out an awkward laugh in an ill attempt at lightening the mood “Ahaha! Hey w-what’s up Doc? You come here often?”

 

“Miu…” she sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose as if to emphasize how exhausting it is to handle Miu’s personality “Do I _want_ to know why you are sitting on Keebo like he is some sort of mechanical bull? And by no means Mr. Idabashi is that meant to poke fun at your role in the killing game…”

 

“Um...no offense taken?”

 

“Aww c’mon Doc lighten up! I visit Keebs all the time, I was just super stoked that he finally got _up_ today if you know what I mean!” Miu reverting to her common style of speech makes Keebo wonder if how she spoke to him earlier was for _his_ sake - if that is the case, he can’t help but admit he has mixed feelings about that idea. “I’m a grown ass woman with a killer bod and a sexy brain, you gotta let me live a little!”

 

Her comment elicits a snicker from the nurse, but the doctor’s gaze toward Miu remains stern. “ _Miu_...kindly remove yourself from Keebo so that we can smoothly run the procedures for the newly awakened patients. I understand that you want to help with his recovery, but staying any longer could complicate these early stages of comprehension. If you don’t want me to revoke your visiting privileges then _please_ do as I ask. Do I make myself clear?”

 

Though he can’t see her face, when Miu lowers her head Keebo can sense the guilt emanating from the girl. “I...o-ok Dr. Mizuno, I hear ya…” Careful to avoid tugging off any of the wires from the medical equipment connected to Keebo’s body, Miu shimmys herself off the bed and wipes her sweaty palms off on her weakened knees. She turns around and brushes her hand against Keebo’s cheek, offering him a small smile. “I’ll see you later, ok Keebo?”

 

Almost instantly, he feels himself getting flustered again. “R-Right of course! I’ll...see you soon too Miu!”

 

She leans down and plants a quick but chaste kiss on Keebo’s lips. They are too invested in their sweet moment to hear the collective sounds of the doctor sighing and the nurse cooing at their action. “Umm Haruka, would you mind escorting Miu to the rec room? I believe she may have some family visiting at the moment.”

 

“No problem Doctor!” the nurse happily walks over to Miu and begins to gently push her towards the door. “Come on you horn dog, you have to let us catch your man up on all that’s happened haha!” the nurse teases Miu with a playful wink, making the girl yell muffled obscenities at how brash the nurse was being as they exit the room together.

 

Dr. Mizuno rubs her temple in relief as she begins walking toward the bed. “That girl is such a handful, I honestly applaud you all for being able to handle her…”

 

Keebo only smiles to himself as he looks at the door with a flustered look on his face - he already misses the girl that has given him his first kiss...that he’s aware of at least. “Yes...but that’s what is so wonderful about her…”

 

The woman giggles softly as she sits by Keebo’s bedside. “Well, I suppose love brings out the best in ourselves.”

 

Love.

 

Is this what he feels for Miu? It certainly doesn’t seem like calculations are behind him feeling this way...his increased heart rate when she was with him had come too natural to him for it all to be calculated.

 

“Keebo,” the woman’s polite voice snaps him from his train of thought “I just want to express my relief to finally see you awake - I’m Dr. Mizuno and the woman you saw earlier is your nurse, Haruka.”

 

“I hope you are feeling alright, because we have quite the handful of things to discuss now that you’re awake. Are you ready for me to proceed Keebo?”

 

Getting any new information, whether it be good or bad, can only be seen as beneficial at this point. Whatever Dr. Mizuno has to tell him Keebo is prepared to listen with his full attention. And more importantly, she could likely provide the answers to the lingering questions and doubts he has in his head.

 

“Please, there is no need to hesitate Dr. Mizuno - tell me everything.”

 

* * *

 

Shuichi, Maki, and Himiko stroll down the halls of their designated floor in the hospital after attending a group therapy session held on the same floor. Although he was told when he woke up that group therapy sessions would start being offered once the others had woken up, earlier this morning Dr. Mizuno had dropped by Shuichi’s room and informed him that one of the therapists wished to speak to him and the other two survivors, as a “practice run” for the group sessions in the future. Shuichi decided to dress in his school uniform minus the black blazer and when he went to retrieve Maki, the former assassin was dressed in a similar manner. Himiko was the hardest to sway into attending, but with enough coaxing from Shuichi (and threats from Maki) the redhead was able to get herself out of bed. She exited her room in a green and grey long sleeve sweater - which she kept using to rub her eyes with - a pair of black shorts, white slip-on shoes, and a cute witch hat Ken brought her the previous day.

 

Their therapist was friendly and did his best to assure the trio they were safe to speak their minds, but even Shuichi could tell the man was likely just as nervous as the others about this practice session. And as Shuichi expected, only he was the one who was the most cooperative with the therapist - Himiko’s responses were either withheld out of nervousness or were vague. Maki was no better - any questions she deemed “too personal” she would refuse to answer while other questions she saw “no purpose in answering”. Shuichi rarely felt too uncomfortable to answer any of the man’s questions, but he had no shame in discussing his issues with survivor’s guilt and the lingering blame he felt on his shoulders for some of the events in the simulation.

 

It seemed that when Shuichi would voice his thoughts on these topics Himiko and Maki were more inclined to reassure him or voice their own opinions to him. He would occasionally spot the therapist writing notes when the girls would do this, seemingly understanding that while they weren’t comfortable telling _him_ their troubles, they didn’t hesitate to tell _Shuichi_ their troubles. Shuichi apologized for this at the end of the session, but the man reassured Shuichi that he was prepared for this to happen. He told the former detective that considering he was still able to get some sort of insight into Maki and Himiko’s troubles it wasn’t a wasted effort; it provided him some topics to discuss with the two in any solo therapy sessions they may choose to schedule with him while they reside at the hospital.

 

As they make their way towards the rec room, Maki stops herself once they pass by Kaito’s room. She looks at the door skeptically, almost as if she’s debating with herself whether or not she should enter the room. Ever since the incident three days ago, Maki has been reluctant to visit Kaito’s room in fear of running into his family again. These past few day she’s only stayed with him for about 10 minutes, before returning to her room to avoid any run-ins with the elderly couple or Ken. The therapy session today has been her only change of pace so far, and even that didn’t have the best of results by the end of it.

 

“Huh? What’s the matter Maki?” Himiko asks, the sleeve of her sweater obscures her hand as she scratches at her lip. “Did you wanna stop by Kaito’s room or something?”

 

Maki stares at the door handle, its shiny silver coloring trying to entice her into entering the room. But Maki looks away, her pigtails sway to the side as she chooses to fiddle with her striped tie to try and keep herself grounded. “No, its fine. We can keep going to the rec room now...” Her voice betrays her in the end, and it’s quite clear to the other two what she really wants. _“I don't want to keep running away from this, ten minutes isn’t enough time to make sure he’s ok - I want to stay with Kaito longer in case he wakes up...but I don’t deserve to be near his family after all the trouble I caused…”_

 

She tenses when she feels a hand on her shoulder. Ignoring her initial instinct to break the person’s wrist, Maki turns around to meet Himiko’s lazy smile. Shuichi gives her a look of understanding too. “Don’t sweat it Maki Roll, me and Shuichi understand if you wanna keep an eye on Kaito! But, if you get lonely just know you have loads of friends waiting for you in the rec room!” Himiko lets a witch-like snicker as she confidently places her hands on her hips...only to quake in her place when she notices Maki staring coldly at her, probably because Himiko wasn’t the person allowed to use _that_ nickname for her.

 

Maki lets her head rest to the side as a soft chuckle escapes her. “Thanks you two,” she meets her fellow survivors with one of her rarer smiles “I’ll...try not to stay too long - you can expect to see me in the recreation room soon I promise.”

 

The pair nods and waves goodbye as they continue on toward the rec room. Maki turns her attention back to the door - she takes a deep breath and breathes out as she turns the door handle. She steps in to find the same old space moron she’s come to appreciate laying in bed as if he’s just resting after one of their usual training sessions, which Maki secretly hopes they can still do once this is all over.

 

The brunette allows herself to relax as she takes her usual seat by Kaito’s bedside - she doesn’t take as much time to seize his hand in hers either, interlocking their fingers is second nature to her now. “Kaito its me...Maki Roll,” if anyone were to hear Maki call herself by that name she wouldn’t hesitate in silencing them, but with just the two of them in this room she has nothing to worry about “I know I haven’t talked much these last few visits, but that’s only because I’ve been leaving too quickly to really say anything. But I won’t let that be an issue anymore - I don’t want to run away if it means cutting my time short with you…” She looks at Kaito’s body with a look of guilt on her face and squeezes his hand tighter “I’ll tell you the exact reason sometime after you wake up, just not now…” Maki’s frown shifts into a small smile as she comes up with a good change in topic. “I actually met some of your family the other day, they seem...nice...but you know, I can’t help but wonder how you’ll take the news that you’re related to a certain troublemaking gremlin.” looking down at Kaito she can’t help but scoff. “Who am I kidding? You’ll probably try to make him your sidekick to make up for everything.”

 

Maki slowly lets herself forget about her stress as her one-sided conversation with Kaito continues. No longer holding herself back from truly engaging with Kaito like she’s wanted to for these past couple of days, Maki lets their “conversation” dive into a few topics like what Maki has found out about her past and about being reunited with her parents shortly after the incident with Ken and their grandparents. If anyone walks into this room so be it, she’s not going to run away from what's bothering her anymore.

 

* * *

 

“Y’know, I’m getting pretty good at this comforting people thing Shuichi!” Himiko twiddles her fingers as she smiles happily, her hat seemingly bouncing along with her sudden giddiness.

 

Shuichi awkwardly smiles at her statement - Himiko wasn’t _wrong_ per say, but he wouldn’t really define her actions to Maki as _comforting_. Reassuring felt like the more appropriate term, but he wasn’t about to rain on Himiko’s parade and be subjected to the wraith of Tenko and/or Ken. “Y-Yeah...you sure are Himiko.” he chuckles and lightly pats Himiko on her head making the smaller girl happily sigh as if she were some sort of pet.

 

Eventually the two of them reach the rec room, and neither are too surprised to see a majority of their group convening in area already. In one of the entertainment corners Shuichi can see Angie, Tenko, Ryoma, and Rantaro sharing one of the couches while enjoying a movie focusing on a popular superheroine - Tenko in particular yells in excitement whenever the title character smacks foes with her shield or lassos them into an attack. At one of the farther tables, Miu is laughing profusely with an older woman and a little girl; both look nearly identical to the inventor, though the older woman has shorter hair while the child, who looks to be seven or eight-years-old, has light brown hair tied into a ponytail. The three of them seem to be conversing while scarfing down take-out from a nearby burger place. At a closer table, Shuichi spots Ken playing a game of chess against an unfamiliar girl with shoulder-length pink hair. Both of them are dressed quite casually - Ken wears a simple red t-shirt and khaki shorts, while the girl has a lilac cardigan over a white blouse with a pair of dark blue skinny jeans.

 

“Hey Himiko, why don’t we stop by Ken’s table first?” Shuichi turns to ask the former magician.

 

Himiko reaches her hand up to lightly scratch at her ear. “Uhh sure I guess?” she says while trying to fight the small blush creeping up on her cheeks. The same day Shuichi and Tenko were told of Ken’s prior (or technically _ongoing_ ) relationship with Himiko, Shuichi found it necessary to inform the girl of this, but Ken had requested that the detective not tell her until after him and his grandparents had already left. Thankfully, Tenko hid herself in her room after Ken’s little...proposal...so Shuichi was able to get to Himiko before the other girl could. She was shocked to learn that not only was she in a relationship - ‘with Kokichi’s twin of all people’ as she had put it - but that Ken had actually suggested the idea of dating her _and_ Tenko! Shuichi didn’t know whether he should find humor in how flustered she was or sympathize with her. But Himiko’s resolve was that she would just play it by ear and see what direction her heart takes her, and Shuichi couldn’t help but smile at how serious she was about following Tenko’s “final words” even outside the killing game.

 

Just as they are about to step forward Kirumi comes from the side of the room - too occupied with examining the contents of a plastic bag to see what's in front of her - and collides with Shuichi and Himiko. The former maid looks up from her task and greets the two with an apologetic smile. “Oh - Himiko, Shuichi! My apologies for not watching where I was going.”

 

“No need to worry Kirumi, it was only an accident.” Shuichi reassures her “Were you just about to leave?”

 

“As a matter of fact I was,” she informs the two as she readjusts the bow on her school uniform “Miu arrived not too long ago to inform us that Keebo had woken up, and that he was actually _human_ no less. That is when I realized Keebo likely hasn’t eaten a proper meal considering that eating wasn’t a necessity for him in the simulation.” Kirumi lightly shakes the bag in her hand as if to draw focus to her explanation. “So considering there are still plenty of leftovers from the lunches my family has brought us during their visits, I thought it best to prepare a well-balanced boxed lunch for Keebo. It will be the first meal he’s had in a long while, so I do not want to overwhelm him with too much food at once.”

 

It’s ironic how Kirumi dislikes being called “mom” despite the very motherly attitude she has towards everyone’s well-being, but Shuichi supposes it can’t be helped. Although she wasn’t a maid in reality, Kirumi was still seen as the best fit for Tsumugi’s “Ultimate Maid” character due to how much she helps at her family’s inn. Apparently the Tojo Inn has been quite popular ever since Kirumi was young, so she often helps her mother, aunts, and cousins with housekeeping duties such as cooking and cleaning while her father and uncles handle the finances and repairs/renovations. It was nice of Kirumi to ask her family to bring a bit more portions in the meals they brought her so that the others could taste the inn’s cuisine, especially considering Kirumi couldn’t actually cook while she still resided at the hospital.

 

“That’s a really nice gesture Kirumi, I’m sure Keebo will really appreciate it!”

 

Kirumi giggles softly as a smile forms on her face. “It’s no trouble at all Shuichi, though I’m sure Miu would have preferred that _she_ be the one to do this, she’s quite busy with family at the moment. However, I take pride in the fact that I’m choosing to do this as Kirumi Tojo, not as the former Ultimate Maid.” Himiko and Shuichi nod at her reply and stand aside to allow Kirumi to pass through the door. “Thank you,” she politely bows “perhaps later this evening we can all have an impromptu dinner and enjoy a movie together before curfew.”

 

“Of course, I’m sure everyone would like that a lot Kirumi!” Shuichi answers back, the smile on Kirumi’s face is still present as she exits the room. Shuichi for one is glad the two of them were able to look past the tension caused by the second trial - the less drama everyone has to experience during their time here the better.

 

Himiko leads the way to table where Ken and the girl are sitting. Upon closer inspection, Shuichi can see that Ken is wearing a similar scarf to Kokichi’s around his neck while the girl wears one around her wrist like a bracelet. Ken moves one of his knight pieces to eliminate the girl’s rook, making her hazel eyes widen in shock.

 

“Checkmate!” Ken says with a sweet-looking grin, though Shuichi can tell this smile seems more genuine than the similar smiles Kokichi would often show when he was ready to stir up trouble. Ken extends his hand out to the girl, she readily accepts the gesture of good sportsmanship. “That was a good match, you’re definitely improving!”

 

“Aww thanks Ken, that’s so sweet of you to say!” her voice sounded very light, but given the lack of chess pieces on her side and Ken’s it was clear this girl was no airhead. When the girl turns to wave at him and Himiko, Shuichi can’t help but notice how the smaller girl tenses up and is looking at the newcomer with caution. “Oh, Ken it looks like you have company!” she giggles.

 

“Hi you two!” Ken greets them warmly with a smile and wave.

 

“You here with your grandparents today Ken?” Shuichi asks as they approach the table, hoping to fill the silence after noticing how eerily quiet Himiko was being.

 

Ken shakes his head “No not today,” he then gestures to the girl at the table “we drove here to visit my brothers for a bit, and we already saw Kaito but we decided to take a break to eat and play a few rounds of chess before we go to Kokichi’s room.”

 

“Ah, I see. You know, a game of chess doesn’t sound too ba-”

 

“And just who is _she_ , Ken?” Himiko lowers her witch hat in an attempt to come off more intimidating, but Shuichi thinks she doesn’t pull the look off too well.

 

However, Ken certainly seems to have been affected seeing as he’s blushing madly to try and clear up Himiko’s misunderstanding while the pink-haired girl chuckles into her hand. “O-Oh this is our f-friend Michiru!” he shyly stammers out, being sure to put emphasis on the ‘friend’ part of the statement. “S-She’s a member of our chess club and one of mine and Kokichi’s closest f-friends! B-But I s-swear that’s _all_ she is!” Ken tugs at the collar of his shirt, nervously avoiding eye contact with those at the table.

 

“That’s right!” the girl confirms “And Ken even asked me to make that hat you’re wearing, so there’s no need for you to be jealous little witch girl!” Michiru says as she playfully winks at Himiko.

 

“I’m not jealous - you are!” Himiko stubbornly huffs out as her face reddens, likely to be from both embarrassment and out of annoyance. She quickly turns on her heels and stomps off toward the movie-watching group, hiding her face under her hat the entire walk to the couches. Michiru and even Shuichi can’t deny that the situation that just occurred was both adorable and hilarious.

 

Ken on the other hand lets his face meet the table as he lets out a defeated sigh. “Well she totally hates me now…” But his moment of loathing is only met with Michiru messing with his violet locks of hair.

 

“I wouldn’t worry about it too much Ken,” Shuichi says to reassure the boy “Himiko just seems like she’s still a little flustered over this whole ordeal, but I’m sure she doesn’t hold anything against you.”

 

Michiru rubs his head a little softer as if to emphasize Shuichi’s point. “Mhm, I think he’s right Ken. Just give it a little bit of time and I’m sure something will come of it!”

 

They hear Ken huff into the table before raising his head to show a relieved smile “Thanks you two, I suppose you’re right - I just have to wait and see what happens…” As he longingly stares at the girl he’s head-over-heels for, Himiko briefly turns her head and for a split second the two make eye contact. But immediately the two look away, trying to hide the light shade of pink dusting their faces. Only Shuichi seemed to notice how Tenko was _also_ staring at the two smaller individuals.

 

Deciding to change the topic, Shuichi tries to think of something he could ask Ken. After all Shuichi did for him when they first met, Ken - much like his brothers - has taken a liking to the “detective” and Shuichi has certainly helped him feel more comfortable around the others to the point where he can join in a conversation without Shuichi being around. And it certainly helps that everyone makes the boy feel welcomed.

 

Shuichi has actually learned a bit about their home life during one of Ken’s past visits. Apparently their parents are still very much in the picture, but their jobs often keep them on a very busy schedule until around summer time. So the brothers live with their grandparents whenever school is in session - occasionally they see their parents on weekends if they are lucky - and during the summer and winter breaks the go back to their regular home. On top of that, they have a corgi named Daisy that lives with them at both houses.

 

Today however Shuichi was curious about another topic, especially with the introduction of Michiru - who he _swears_ looks familiar. He wants to know if a certain aspect of Kokichi’s motive video had any sort of truth in reality. “Hey Ken, there is something I want to ask you - does D.I.C.E actually exist out here?”

 

“D.I.C.E? Do you mean the group that was in Kokichi’s video thing?” Michiru asks.

 

“Huh? Y-Yeah it does exist, but the circumstances around it are a bit different from the little bit of information you probably saw - plus we aren’t really called ‘D.I.C.E’ either. Do you want me to tell you a little about it Shuichi?”

 

He smiles at how open the older twin was choosing to be with him “Yeah, I think it’d be nice to hear about them!”

 

Ken’s eyes seem to light up at the chance to discuss this and Shuichi can’t help but chuckle at how much the gesture reminds him of a certain liar. “Well, when we entered high school Kokichi was pretty adamant about distancing himself from Kaito during school; since Kaito was kind of a ‘popular kid’ back in middle school,  Kokichi didn’t want to get our brother a bad reputation considering how much of a prankster Kokichi is.” Shuichi notices how guilty both Michiru and Ken look and he can’t help but understand why - who knew that even in reality Kokichi had a roundabout way of showing people he cared…

 

“Anyway, me and Kokichi decided to join the chess club since we’re both pretty good at it, but let's just say Kokichi wasn’t too keen on how the veteran members treated us. A lot of the members were snooty, arrogant, and valued winning over anything else. So when the two of us came in as freshman and managed to beat every member there was a mixed response; the club either wanted to use us or hated our guts, but Kokichi wasn’t about to deal with any of that so we quit.” Ken couldn’t help but show a rarely cocky grin, which Michiru was all too happy to tease him about.

 

“That’s when Kokichi decided to form our own chess club independently from the school’s official one. But finding members to join wasn’t... _easy_. Not at first at least…”

 

Ken gets interrupted when he hears the squeaking of Michiru’s chair as she bounces in her seat “And that’s actually where I come in!” she squeals. “I had just broken up with a boy because he kept pressuring me into taking our relationship to the ‘next level’, but of course he made up this huge lie about how _I_ cheated on _him_ and left him for someone else!” even with her airy voice, Michiru’s frustration could be distinctly heard. “A lot of people in school started to think I was a whore, and I was even dropped from the cheer team because of it. I still think that the head cheerleader was secretly hooking up with my ex, there was no way I would’ve been kicked off so easily…” She crushes a bottle of tea in her hand, eliciting a gulp in fear from the two boys at the table. However, the scorn on her face is immediately replaced with a sweet smile, though the subtle twitch in her eyebrow wasn’t unnoticed. “But that’s all in the past now!” Shuichi has only met her for five minutes, but that’s enough time to tell him not to anger this girl.

 

“That day, I came across the twins handing out fliers to try and recruit people for their independent chess club. At that point I didn’t have much to lose, so I took a flier and told them I would consider joining.”

 

“But Kichi noticed something was _off_ about Michiru,” Ken adds on “and told her to eat with us at lunch time if she wanted to talk about it.”

 

“There really wasn’t any other place I could go so I went and told them everything that happened…” she turns to Ken with a look of gratitude “And they actually believed me. They didn’t turn on me like everyone else, and I couldn’t help but cry over how nice they were to me.” Michiru then gestures to the scarf on her wrist “That’s how I decided I’d become the first official member of ‘D.I.C.E.’ haha!”

 

“My brother got an idea after recruiting Michiru - rather than ask just _anyone_ to join we’d look for those who felt they were being outcasted and give them a place where they felt they could belong! To Kichi, this team was going to be seen as a family _first_ and a club _second_.” Ken tells Shuichi with a surprising sense of pride. It’s a bit comforting to know that Ken isn’t afraid to be expressive around Shuichi, although the “detective” can tell that his level of expressiveness is vastly different from that of his younger twin’s.

 

“What did you all do next? I imagine that even as an independent club you needed some sort of sponsor?” Shuichi questions.

 

“We had actually gotten one of Kokichi’s drama teachers to be our unofficial sponsor, though we felt a little bad because the school would only allow the club to exist if the teacher funded it themselves.” Ken says with a tinge of guilt in his voice. “But, Kokichi’s teacher believed in the things my brother could do so they didn’t mind pitching in to help us function as a club.”

 

“Then came the fun part: entering the tournaments and causing quite the stir haha!” Michiru adds in with a bit of sass. “Nothing felt quite as good as coming in as the unknown underdogs and snatching victory from our own school’s chess club! Of course we all went in totally disguised, so seeing those snobs get beaten by ‘total nobodies’ as they called us really put a smile on Leader’s face!”

 

To Shuichi the entire reasoning behind the establishment of D.I.C.E by Kokichi helps him to understand the little leader a bit more. Even if he had the skill to be on the school’s team, he didn’t want to join if him and Ken didn’t feel welcome. And the fact that he chose to recruit those who were wrongly outcasted goes to show that Kokichi _is_ a good person, even if he won’t admit it to himself. Shuichi only regrets not trying hard enough to know _this_ Kokichi, not the “Supreme Leader” persona he had to adapt. Maybe if he had the two could have worked _together_ to end the game...perhaps in another lifetime this was the case, but not in this one…

 

“-Oh but the best part was what Leader had us do with the trophies, go on tell him Ken!” apparently Shuichi was so wrapped up in his own thoughts that he completely zoned out during Michiru’s enthusiastic speech.

 

“W-Well because we didn’t exactly represent a school at the tournaments, and none of us wanted to give our trophies to our _actual_ school, Kokichi came up with a system. Anytime our group would win a tournament one of us would keep the trophy. And so that no one would get more trophies than someone else, Kichi made it a rule that we each get to keep one trophy and that any extras we earned would go to our sponsor.”

 

Shuichi is actually touched that the group came up with such a selfless system for keeping the trophies. “You know, that actually sounds like a really effective system. How many tournaments have you managed to win if you don’t mind me asking?”

 

“Oh you’re so polite Shuichi!” he hears Michiru chuckle “Well the ten of us currently have a trophy shining proudly in our rooms somewhere, while our sponsor has six trophies spread throughout her classroom - does that answer your question?” she responds with a teasing smile.

 

“Woah! You’ve all managed to win _sixteen_ tournaments?!?” Shuichi says in disbelief, having only won two trophies from chess himself when he was younger. “That’s pretty impressive!”

 

“Well...it was a team effort.” Ken tells  Shuichi with a smile on his face, and for a brief instance Shuichi thinks he sees Kokichi sitting in his twin’s place.

 

“You know, after hearing all of that I can’t help but want to play a match of chess myself - you interested Ken?” the detective asks the boy with a challenging smile.

 

Ken shoots his own playful smile back at Shuichi “Of course Shuichi!” Him and Michiru start to put the pieces back into place “Whenever you’re read-”

 

At that moment, Maki comes bursting through the doors of the rec room, catching the attention of everyone in the room as she runs toward Shuichi’s table. She looks like she’s in a hurry.

 

“Maki? What is it-”

 

“Its Kaito.” She quickly says, her face showing genuine surprise “He’s awake!”

 

* * *

 

Keebo is alone in his room as he rests in his bed, although he supposes there isn’t much else he’s capable of doing for the time being. Dr. Mizuno had informed him that due to the injuries he sustained in the...simulation...he would have to be in a wheelchair for a few days. He was also told that he would be given physical therapy sessions to help him regain his ability to walk.

 

Processing...no _accepting_ that he was actually a human was a difficult feeling for Keebo to comprehend. Within the simulation he wished for nothing more than to be treated the same as everyone else, but towards the end he accepted the “reality” that he was different and always would be. Now that the truth has come to light that he is indeed a _human being_ and was born as such, Keebo still can’t help but feel lost.

 

Dr. Mizuno was kind enough to inform him that as his older memories return to him, the basic aspects of life that are nearly second nature to everyone else would be remembered by Keebo as well.

 

According to the doctor, Tsumugi had never intended for Keebo to be made into a robot for the killing game, and that the writers had completely scrapped her initial idea for him when they discovered that both of his parents were robotic engineers. Both Dr. Mizuno and his nurse agreed that altering his avatar for the sake of using him as a surrogate for the audience was a new low for Team Danganronpa, and that they were more than ready to testify against them in court. When the doctor had finished informing him of the virtual world aspect of the killing, how he and the others were kidnapped and forced to partake in the game, and how he was one of the few people who had their backgrounds drastically altered Keebo had asked Dr. Mizuno if she had any information on his past.

 

She had given him a look of hesitation, and though it had worried him Keebo had still asked that she share whatever she could with him.

 

The Idabashi’s are in a good financial state because of their occupations...but it is also because of their jobs that they rarely have any time for their kids. Yes, kids in the plural tense. Even if his parents cannot be there for them it still warms Keebo’s newly-discovered heart to know that he has not only a mother but a younger brother as well.

 

Suddenly, there is a knock at his door. “Um, come in!” he shouts back, secretly hoping that Miu is on the other side of the door. Keebo readjusts himself on the bed so that he is sitting up with his back against his pillows. The anticipation he felt building up at the thought of Miu returning to visit him calms down when it is Kirumi who enters the room instead.

 

“Hello Keebo, it is quite nice to see you again.” she greets politely, the plastic bag she is carrying shakes as she starts to make her way toward the bedside chair. Kirumi sets the bag down on the nightstand then brushes her long skirt as she takes a seat by Keebo.

 

“O-Oh Kirumi, I didn’t expect a visit from you…” Keebo eyes widen as he realizes how rude he sounded. “N-Not that I am ungrateful by any means, I apologize for how that sounded!!” he stammers.

 

But Kirumi only giggles at Keebo, happy to see he’s kept his easily-flustered nature. “There is no need for apologies Keebo, I only wished to bring you this.” the former maid begins to empty the contents of the bag, which looks to be two boxed meals, a bottle of tea, and a bottle of what looks to be a carbonated beverage.

 

Did Kirumi...bring him _food_?

 

“It occurred to me that you likely haven’t had an actual meal for quite some time now, so I decided to heat up some of the leftover meals my family has brought from our inn.” Kirumi sets down one of boxed lunches down on his bed’s tray table along with a set of plastic utensils. She grabs the two drinks and holds them out in front of him “I wasn’t sure what your preferred drink would be so I purchased a tea and a soda. Which would you like? I’ll take the other drink for my lunch - I imagined you would like some company with you so I'll be eating my lunch here if that is alright with you.”

 

He suddenly felt the urge to cry - whether it was from Kirumi’s very considerate gesture or from the realization that he would be able to finally taste food once again Keebo wasn’t quite sure. But he wasn’t about to worry Kirumi after she went through the trouble to organize this. “I’ll take the...soda then,” she nods and hands him the dark-colored soda as she sets the tea by her meal “thank you Kirumi.”

 

“But of course Keebo.” Kirumi says as she begins to open her boxed lunch - Keebo quickly copies the gesture to avoid Kirumi catching him staring.

 

The lunch is decorated quite beautifully, as to be expected if it came from Kirumi’s family. Three rice balls with bits of cooked salmon and herbs take up most of the box. The other half of the lunch box is evenly portioned with fried coconut shrimp, hard-boiled eggs styled like small rabbits, and bright red cherry tomatoes. He _knows_ what all these foods are, its not as though he was oblivious to what food was during his time as a robot. But now he could actually enjoy food again, a feeling that Team Danganronpa took away from him before.

 

“ _Now...how exactly should I approach this?_ ” he asks himself, hesitation seems to be the new barrier preventing him from actually _trying_ any of the food in front of him.

 

“Keebo?” he turns to see Kirumi looking at him, concern on her face as she holds half of a rice ball in her hand. “Is there a problem?”

 

“N-No not at all! I’m just nervous, but I’m sure it will be fine.” Keebo chuckles nervously as he stabs his fork into a piece of shrimp. Kirumi gives Keebo a sideways glance, taking a rather big sip of her tea as the food gets closer to his mouth.

 

The moment the shrimp touches his tongue, Keebo’s eyes widen. He can practically feel the crispy skin of the shrimp and the subtle coconut flakes getting absorbed by each taste bud. Keebo bites down, separating the shrimp tail from the body, and chews at the crunchy texture in his mouth before letting it slide down his throat.

 

Kirumi starts to worry when she notices tears coming down Keebo’s face. “Keebo are you alright!?! Was the food not to your liking?”

 

He shakes his head “No...the opposite really,” he turns to Kirumi with a smile that melts her heart - even if she won’t admit to it “this is probably the best thing I could’ve asked for as a first meal! Thank you very much Kirumi!” Uncapping the soda bottle and hearing the satisfying sound of pressured air escaping the bottle Keebo takes a long sip of the drink. The dark cola tastes very sweet, but the cherry aftertaste is quite savory on his tongue.

 

The former maid sighs in relief but smiles through another sip of tea. She decides to move her lunch onto the bed as Keebo happily munches on another piece of shrimp.

 

As they continue to eat together Kirumi shares stories from the inn she has managed to recall given how long she’s been out of the simulation. Keebo laughs through a bite of his rabbit-shaped egg when Kirumi tells him of a time that some female guests at the inn caused a ruckus when they walked in on male guests using the hot springs. Apparently there had been a mix-up with the male and female bathing times.

 

“You know, I actually suggested a group dinner coupled with a movie in the rec room tonight, would you like to attend Keebo? I’m certain Miu would _very_ much appreciate your attendance.”

 

Keebo nearly chokes on his rice ball at what Kirumi was insinuating. Never would he take the former maid as the playful type. He takes a generous sip of his soda to try and hide his blushing cheeks, even if he still hears the silent chuckles of Kirumi. “T-That sounds nice, I appreciate the invitation Kirumi!” Keebo looks up at her to try and make his embarrassment less noticeable, but when he stabs his fork into the box he is surprised to see that all of the food has vanished.

 

“Umm Kirumi, could I perhaps have some more please?”

 

* * *

 

Maki, Shuichi, and Ken are quickly making their way down the hall to Kaito’s room - each of them feeling many emotions going off at once as they get closer to the former astronaut’s room. Maki had told the others that when Kaito started to wake up she panicked and called a nurse before running to find Shuichi. Once Ken heard this, he immediately contacted their grandparents before the trio left the rec room.

 

When they reach the room a young man with messy dark brown hair wearing red nursing scrubs is standing in front of the door. “Oh it's you!” he says to Maki, this must have been the nurse she called. “Thank you for letting us know about Kaito, but I’m afraid Dr. Mizuno is still busy helping him understand everything so I can’t let any of you in.” He was just telling them the precautions he had to follow, Shuichi and Ken didn’t see a problem with that.

 

Maki, however, was another story. “Everything was fake and no one really died. The end. Kaito might be an idiot, but even _he_ doesn’t need help understanding that he’s alive when he should be dead. So just let us in already...” she tells the nurse in a rather annoyed voice, which Shuichi feels isn’t necessary.

 

The nurse sighs. “Look, I understand you all want to see your friend, but Dr. Mizuno is doing her best to make sure Kaito can _safely_ comprehend everything without damaging his mental state. So don’t you _dare_ talk down to us like that, I realize that you don’t give a damn about us, but we are trying to help you and your friends recovery from that damn killing game - the _least_ you can do is be a little appreciative!” His voice gets slightly louder at the end as he scolds Maki.

 

Maki snarls at the man, Shuichi can tell how badly she wants to force the nurse away with how tightly her fists were balled up, but eventually Maki conceded. “ _Fine_.” she says bitterly “But it you all screw up you’ll regret it…” After her threat Maki walks over and leans against a wall, seething as she is forced to wait.

 

Shuichi and Ken join her, the latter decides to speak up to break the silence “I’m...really nervous about going in. I don’t know how Kaito or myself will react to everything…”

 

“This is Kaito we’re talking about - sure he’s stubborn, but I’m sure he’ll listen to whatever you need to say Ken.” Shuichi does his best to console the boy, though he understands why Ken is letting his nerves get the best of him.

 

Finding out the killing game was fake is one thing, but learning the twins were his brothers was going to be heart-wrenching for Kaito.

 

About ten minutes pass before the group in the hallway hears Kaito’s door open. Dr. Mizuno shuts the door behind her and the three teens immediately approach her.

 

“How is he?” Shuichi asks.

 

“Kaito is doing alright,” she says while adjusting her glasses “the biggest shock for him was just discovering everyone was alive. But telling him about the kidnappings, Team Danganronpa, and sorting the truths and falsities of his past went smoothly.”

 

Ken flinches when the doctor mentions Kaito’s past, he walks up to her but stares at the floors as plays with the hem of his shirt. “Did...did you mention anything about me or Kokichi to him?”

 

“I mentioned he had two brothers, but I kept your identities a secret - I imagined you’d want to tell him yourself.”

 

Ken nods. “T-Thank you…”

 

Dr. Mizuno and the nurse walk away, leaving the trio to stare at Kaito’s door. Maki immediately reaches for the handle, but Ken grabs at her sleeve to stop her.

 

“W-Wait! You two should go in first, I think it’s best if Kaito sees me last given the circumstances.” Ken still can’t bring himself to look either of them in the eye.

 

“We understand Ken, just come in when you feel ready.” Shuichi rests his hand on Ken’s shoulder, trying to do his best to give the worried boy some encouragement. “Don’t worry, if you start to panic or things don’t go smoothly I promise I’ll be there to help.”

 

Ken slowly nods at him, and moves away from the door to avoid having Kaito see him. Maki rolls her eyes as she opens the door, allowing herself and Shuichi to enter the room.

 

The two are instantly met with Kaito’s trademark grin when they see the former astronaut sitting up on his bed. “Maki Roll! Bro! Nice to see that my sidekicks are doin’ alright!” Kaito says, smirking as he gives his visitors a thumbs-up. He wraps Shuichi and Maki in a headlock when they get close enough to the bed, making them tumble awkwardly onto the bed. They return his gesture by hugging at Kaito’s sides, although Maki was a bit more flustered and initially more hesitant to do so.

 

“Kaito! W-Welcome back!” Shuichi clutches Kaito’s left side even tighter, feeling so happy to be able see his best friend alive again that he feels like he could cry. But Shuichi knows he can’t cry now, someone else would be needing Kaito’s support soon and crying was inevitable.

 

“...Yeah,” Maki holds onto Kaito’s right side even tighter, as if she’s scared he’ll disappear on her again “we...we really missed you Kaito…”

 

Kaito releases both of his sidekicks from their headlocks, allowing Maki to take a seat on the bed while Shuichi stands by the bedside. “C’mon, there’s no reason to be sappy now! The Doc said I should be up and about in a few hours, and once that happens we’re gettin’ back to training so we can regain our strength!” Kaito slams his fists together in triumph, his determination as strong as ever. “Doc even said there was a small courtyard we could use as long as we don’t break curfew, what do ya say sidekicks?”

 

“Y-Yeah, that sounds nice Kaito.” Shuichi nods in unison with Maki - both were quick to agree with Kaito’s suggestion. “Umm, but how are you feeling after learning about... _everything_ Kaito?” he says with concern. Dr. Mizuno had said Kaito was fine, but Shuichi would still prefer to see how his best friend is doing for himself.

 

Kaito scratches the back of his head, as if he’s still processing everything. “Well it does kinda suck knowing that the whole ‘Ultimate Astronaut’ thing was bs, but it turns out I’m still serious about astronomy out here! Looks like the ‘Luminary of the Stars’ title won’t be disappearin’ anytime soon!” Kaito says with his signature cocky grin, eliciting a small chuckle from his two sidekicks. “And knowin’ everyone is still alive is a win in my book! Sure, our everyday lives are gonna be different now after goin’ through the hell that we did, but as long as we don’t let that damn killing game drag us down I know we can move past this!”

 

Shuichi and Maki stare back at him with proud smiles, glad to see that Kaito was still as optimistic as he was in the killing game. His stance on how they should be viewing the future ahead of them was definitely admirable. “Still, who woulda thought _Tsumugi_ was the mastermind?” Kaito says with surprise, likely still in disbelief over learning this from Dr. Mizuno. “Can’t say I saw _that_ truth bomb coming when the doc told me everything! Oh, but good job on you all for fucking over Team Danganronpa - you guys are the best sidekicks a hero could have! I’m proud of you!” Yet again, he gives them his signature smile and a thumbs-up. Kaito reaches over to mess with the former detective’s hair, managing to get a small laugh from Shuichi and a tiny smirk from Maki.

 

“Umm Kaito, did you...learn anything about your family?” Maki fidgets with one of her pigtails, she’d clearly nervous about the information she already possess about Kaito’s family. “Some of our memories in the simulation don’t necessarily match up with reality...so I was just curious about how it was for you…”

 

Shuichi could tell there was likely more to Maki’s statement than she let on, but Kaito didn’t seem to notice. “Well from what I told the doc, it seems like the memory of my parents and grandparents wasn’t tampered with.” Kaito brings his hand to chin, closing his eyes in deep thought. “But for some reason, Team Danganronpa or Tsumugi wiped my memories of having two little brothers…” Shuichi and Maki share a knowing look, but Kaito’s abrupt laughter catches them off guard. “Ha! I guess they wanted my hero complex to be used on everyone else, so they made me forget I was already a hero at home!” Kaito grins cockily, like he just found out he won the lottery AND a Nobel Prize in the same day.

 

“But it’s gonna be great to see my parents, Grams, and Pops again!” Kaito’s cocky expression shifts to a more neutral-looking smile. “And I guess I got my own little sidekicks I get to meet soon too! Hope it doesn’t take too long for me to remember ‘em though.” Shuichi feels a pang of guilt when Kaito uses the term ‘little sidekicks’, recalling the part of Kaito’s past that Ken had informed him of. And seeing Kaito look so optimistic over the thought of meeting his brothers, only worsens the guilt he’s feeling about keeping the information to himself.

 

The door opens, of course Maki and Shuichi were expecting _this_ visitor - Kaito, however, was another story. Ken is visibly shaking when he and Kaito make eye contact, his eyes wide open in a mix of worry and sadness. “Oh shit Kokichi, you’re awake already? Damn, take about a speedy recovery!” Both of Kaito’s visitors knew better than to correct him on his mix-up - that would be up to Ken.

 

Ken is extremely cautious as he makes his way across the room, treating each step as though he’s walking across a floor of glass that will break with too much pressure. As Ken inches closer, Shuichi can hear faint whimpering coming from the boy. “Not...I’m...I’m not K-Kichi, I’m...I’m…” the older twin’s sniffling becomes more frequent, his big, violet eyes now bloodshot from the tears coming down his face. “I’m his b-brother...K-Ken..” By the time Ken reaches Shuichi, the boy looks like an emotional wreck.

 

This image seems to stick in Kaito’s head; to him, this person looks like a very vulnerable Kokichi, something _no one_ saw in the killing game. And he can’t help but look incredibly guilty, knowing that he was the cause of this young boy’s grief. Kaito turns his attention to the twin, guilt and sympathy clear on his face as he places a hand on Ken’s shoulder. “...Fuck...listen, Ken, if you hate me for what I did to your brother I understa-”

 

But Ken takes Kaito by surprise, falling onto the bed and burying his face in Kaito’s chest before the taller boy could finish his apology. Ken squeezes at the fabric of Kaito’s hospital gown, his heavy tears staining his brother’s top as his sobs become louder. “N-No!” Ken shouts through his crying “I-I’ll never h-hate you...y-you’re my b-big…my big...” Ken is practically wheezing as he tries to tell Kaito the truth, but Shuichi and Maki know its not their place to tell Kaito what Ken is struggling to say.

 

But Kaito isn’t an idiot.

 

One look at his shocked expression when Ken was struggling with his words showed that Kaito understood what the boy was getting at.

 

That’s when Kaito decides to wrap his arms around the boy’s back, Ken makes a small noise of shock when he feels Kaito’s sudden embrace. Kaito looks at the shaking boy in arms with sympathy, and moves one of his hands to gently stroke the back of Ken’s head. The somewhat-familiar purple curls tangle around his fingers with each rub. “There, there, little guy...” Kaito whispers. “Its ok, just breathe. I...think I know what you’re gettin’ at here…I’m your brother-”

 

“-You’re my brother…”

 

They say in unison, both responses coming out equally as hushed.

 

Kaito is the first to break the silence, a quiet growl escapes him as his grip on Ken’s back gets tighter. “So you’re telling me...I ended up _killing_ my little brother for some...FUCKED UP show that made me forget about him in the first place?!” he asks to no one in particular.

 

“Kaito, _you_ aren’t to blame for any of this!” Shuichi tries to reassure him.

 

“The hell I’m not Shuichi!” Kaito grits his teeth in frustration, more at himself then anyone else. “Dammit! If I had just tried harder with Kokichi instead of fucking givin’ up on him he could’ve-”

 

“N-No Kaito, Shuichi is right!” Ken yells, burying himself further into Kaito’s chest. “If anyone is to blame...its Team Danganronpa, _they_ are the ones that made you and Kichi forget each other!” even through his tears, Shuichi could hear Ken’s clear hatred toward the company in his voice - and Shuichi couldn’t really blame him.

 

“If you honestly think _you’re_ to blame for Kokichi dying, you’re an idiot.” Maki stares down at the floor, attempting to hide the guilt on her face.

 

Kaito sighs, contempt with dropping this touchy subject...for now. “Hey Ke- little bro?” the boy gasps quietly at how Kaito chooses to address him. “Would...would you be ok with telling me about _us_? If I want to make things right with Kokichi when he wakes up, I gotta try and remember our time as brothers! I...couldn’t protect him in the killing game, but like hell if I’m making the same mistake twice out here!”

 

Wiping his tears away with his hand, Ken nods into his older brother’s chest.“I’ll tell you everything...but i just need a couple of minutes to stay like this...I'm...I’m just really happy you’re awake Kaito...I really missed you, big brother..” Ken adjusts his arms to try and return the semi-hug Kaito has been giving him the last few minutes.

 

“Take your time Ken, I won’t rush ya…” Kaito clutches his little brother closer to himself, a hopeful smile spreading on his lips. “And don’t worry, I ain’t planning on leaving you again - that’s my promise as a man _and_ as your big bro!”

 

Shuichi and Maki can’t help but smile at the scene, though Shuichi knows it’d probably be for the best give the reunited brothers their privacy. “Maki, we should probably leave them be. They...have a lot they need to talk about.” Shuichi attempts to give Kaito a fist-bump, but after awkwardly performing the gesture he starts making his way to the door.

 

The brunette turns to the former astronaut, who mouths out _‘We’ll catch up later, promise!’_ , and gets up to follow Shuichi. “Y-Yeah, I understand.”

 

As Maki gets off the bed, she turns to glare at the brothers while dusting off her skirt. “If you say anything to hurt or upset him, you’re going to regret it...”

 

“O-Of course M-Maki, I p-promise I’ll-” Ken nervously responds out of instinct.

 

“I was talking to your brother.” she says with a smirk, now focusing her gaze on Kaito. “Do anything to upset this kid and you’ll wish you hadn’t. Got it Kaito?”

 

But Kaito knows better than to brush off a serious threat from Maki. “H-Hey cut me some slack Maki Roll, the last thing I’d want to do is hurt Ken! You have my word as the Luminary of the Stars that we’ll be fine!”

 

“If you say so…” Maki rolls her eyes at Kaito’s ridiculous use of his equally ridiculous title, and walks out the room with Shuichi.

 

They two of them decide to return to the rec room, planning to inform the others of Kaito’s condition and tell them to stay away from his room for a while.

 

“I’m glad things didn’t go too badly, but more than anything I think I’m just happy to see Ken reunite with one of his brothers.” Shuichi tells Maki as they continue down the hall. “And maybe telling Kaito about their past could help him remember his lost memories much faster.” Shuichi smiles, he knows he shouldn’t be too hopeful, but he chooses to believe that everything will work out well in the end for the twins and Kaito.

 

“Hmph, well as long as the little gremlin doesn’t complicate things when he wakes up everything should be fine.” Maki says, her sarcasm at the mere thought that Kokichi _won’t_ make things complicated clearly showing. Shuichi awkwardly chuckles along, not wishing to ruin the playfulness Maki rarely shows.

 

Normally, Shuichi would agree with her. But after spending their free time together in the simulation (well, before things went sour), and with all that he’s learned of Kokichi’s past from Ken, his opinion has definitely changed. Shuichi actually finds himself believing in Kokichi, and that the former supreme leader will be ready to accept his and everyone else’s support.

 

_Let’s hope that you wake up with no issues Kokichi…and soon..._

 

Shuichi finds himself smiling at his own thoughts.

 

_We’re here for you Kokichi..._

 

_And we always will be..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Time: Its one thing to recieve forgiveness, but believing you're worthy of it is another matter entirely
> 
> So this fic has officially reached the halfway mark, whoop!! Now I do have a few announcements to make though.
> 
> Because this story takes up a lot of time I'm putting my YouTuber au on a brief hiatus because of this. Now, I may try to put out Rantaro's chapter soon, but I can't promise anything :/. But should it come out soon, then the hiatus will follow right after. Again, I am really sorry :(
> 
> But! I did create a poll for you guys to decide what story to focus on next once this one is in the finishing stages!
> 
> https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/YJ6D5B6
> 
> I think the survey caps out at 100 total votes, so vote while you can!


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